Zelensky urges EU to set up 'financial Ramstein', Western leaders vow support

MOSCOW. Oct 25 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called on the European Union countries to set up a "financial Ramstein" to promote Ukraine's reconstruction and economic recovery.

Zelensky made the statement while speaking via video conference at an international expert conference on Ukraine's recovery and modernization in Berlin on Tuesday, Ukrainian media reported.

Ukraine has developed a transparent recovery plan, Zelensky said. "This is what Ukraine needs for survival: $17 billion immediately. This concerns hospitals, schools, and vital transport and power infrastructure," he said.

"We haven't yet received a cent for a speedy recovery. I am asking you to advance the necessary decisions," he said.

"A decision on assistance for covering the next year's budget deficit should be made already now, at this conference," Zelensky said. "It's a $28-billion deficit, an unaffordable sum for Ukraine," he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said at the conference that a coordinating financial platform should work under the guidance of the EU, the United States, and Ukraine and involve international financial organizations.

This platform should imply regular meetings between the finance ministers of the G7 countries, Ukraine, and other partners, leaders, and representatives of international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and others, Shmygal said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the conference that Germany "will support Ukraine for as long as it takes in political, financial, and humanitarian terms, as well as with weapons."

Scholz said Ukraine needed a new Marshall Plan of the 21st century, while it should also be engaged actively and take on a lot of responsibility in the process of its transformation.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined priorities of Ukraine's recovery and reform.

The European Commission is working on allocating 18 billion euros for Ukraine in 2023, with monthly support of 1.5 billion euros until the end of the crisis, von der Leyen said.