CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Ukrainian economy needs help. The European Union offered $15 Billion to stabilize the country.
Lawmakers in Crimea will vote on whether to rejoin Russia on March 16.
Petro Matiaszek owns the largest KFC in Ukraine. He joins us via Skype from Kiev to offer perspective about the current situation.
He says that the reaction to Crimea parliament is guarded and that the meetings are closed, without journalists or the public present. It’s not as simple as those in power think they can pull off.
The EU has had active negotiations to see what sanctions they can put on Russians.
Matiaszek says that the Crimean peninsula has more Ethnic Russians so their views on Russia differ from those in Kiev. However, they’ve been citizens of Ukraine since the 1990’s, but with the Russian military presence, there’s more of a cautious mood.
When it comes to owning a business in Ukraine, Matiaszek says he’s concerned with the safety of his employees and customers, especially when the violence erupted last week. He’s keeping an eye on the economy and the talks in Crimea, but says it hasn’t affected his business.
Matiaszek says it’s been important to use the Parliament to restore the Executive Branch and the banking system, which the new government has done handily. He says the exchange rate has stabilized and the situation has improved dramatically, except in the part occupied by Russia.
