KIEV, Jan 18, (NNN-CGTN) – Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky said, he wanted to give his Prime Minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk, a “second chance” and refused to accept his resignation, after a recording emerged of the premier questioning the head of state’s grasp of economics.
“I have decided to give you and your government a second chance,” Zelensky said, during a meeting with Honcharuk in a video, released by the presidency.
It marked the first major political test for Zelensky, a comedian with no previous political experience, who swept to power in a landslide victory at last year’s presidential election.
He has been embroiled in the US impeachment process and faced tough talks with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, but had thus far managed to avoid any significant domestic political problems.
Honcharuk offered to quit, after the leaked recording revealed him saying the president had a “primitive understanding” of the economy.
The audio recording was leaked on social media on Wednesday, and came from an informal Dec meeting between ministers and senior officials from the National Bank.
According to local media reports, the participants discussed how to explain recent economic developments to Zelensky.
