Ukrainian Prez rejects PM's resignation

Zelenskiy called the situation “unpleasant” but said that he had decided to “give a chance” to Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and his Cabinet.

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected his prime minister's offer to resign and asked him to stay on the job on Friday after he was caught on tape saying Zelenskiy — a former sitcom star with no previous political experience — knows nothing about the economy.

In a video released by Zelenskiy’s office, the president called the situation “unpleasant” but said that he had decided to “give a chance” to Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and his Cabinet.

The furor comes at a fraught moment for Zelenskiy, who has found himself in the middle of the impeachment case unfolding against President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump stands accused of withholding nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine to pressure the country's leader to investigate Trump political rival Joe Biden.

In a Facebook post earlier on Friday, Honcharuk praised Zelenskiy as "an example of transparency and decency to me" and added: “In order to dispel any doubts about our respect and trust for the president, I have written a resignation letter and submitted it to the president for introduction to parliament.”

The offer to step down was subject to approval by the Rada, Ukraine's parliament. But analysts expressed doubt the resignation would come to pass.