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| - Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz will continue its cooperation with Western partners, the firm's new chief Yuriy Vitrenko said on Friday, trying to allay fears after his reform-minded predecessor was sacked. The Ukrainian government on Wednesday dismissed Naftogaz head Andriy Kobolev, whose moves toward transparency won him support among Western investors, and suspended all members of the company's supervisory board. The move sparked criticism from Ukraine's allies in the United States and Europe who urged Kiev to do more to improve corporate governance and not put economic progress at risk. "Our international partners have helped Naftogaz and the government in many ways," Vitrenko said during his first press conference after he was appointed to replace Kobolev on Wednesday. "We will continue to cooperate constructively with them," 44-year-old former executive director of Naftogaz added. On Thursday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was "deeply concerned" over the "calculated move", saying it showed "disregard for fair and transparent corporate governance practices." His remarks were echoed by the European Union, with EU spokesman Peter Stano on Friday urging Kiev to "ensure that the management decisions at state-owned enterprises are taken in full accordance with basic tenets of recognised corporate governance standards". Kobolev was dismissed after Naftogaz posted losses of 19.0 billion hryvnia ($685 million) in 2020. However, he managed to reduce Ukraine's dependence on Russian gas deliveries and introduced reforms that improved the company's public image. While both Kobolev and Vitrenko were in office, the Stockholm arbitration court in 2017 ordered Russia's Gazprom to pay $2.56 billion to Naftogaz for failing to pay the Ukrainian company fees to transport Russian gas to Europe. Vitrenko on Friday vowed to continue to "put pressure" on Gazprom "in the interests of Ukrainian and European consumers" of gas. "Russia is the aggressor state, and Gazprom is the national Russian gas company," he added. Kiev's ties with Russia have been in tatters since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. One of Europe's poorest countries, Ukraine is dependent on international loans, including from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has handed Kiev cash on the condition it will implement economic reforms. dg/acl/rl
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