President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a meeting with leaders of parliamentary factions and groups at which he urged the MPs to be responsible at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada that would be held the following day and to adopt extremely important bills.

 The Head of State drew attention to the importance of the issue on defense capacity of the country and offered to approve the candidature of Commander of the National Guard Stepan Poltorak to the post of Defense Minister.

 “He has a great authority among the militaries and in the international community. According to the experts, he is an optimal candidate for the post of Defense Minister. I count on your support,” the President addressed the participants of the meeting.

 The President called for consideration in the second reading and adoption of the bill on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau that had been revised after the first reading taking into account the expressed remarks. Petro Poroshenko also drew attention to the anti-corruption initiatives of the Government. “We have nowhere to retreat. There is a very powerful public request,” the President noted. The Head of State stressed that he was ready to immediately sign the anti-corruption laws as soon as they were adopted by the Parliament.

 The Head of State reminded that he had signed the Law on purification of government (on lustration) without a delay when it had been adopted by the Parliament. He informed that the given law had already been submitted for publication.

 Also, the President drew attention of the MPs to the necessity of adopting the Law on public prosecution. The Head of State noted that the remarks of the Venice Commission had been fully taken into account. The key problems to be solved are: issue of general supervision, transfer of the investigation to the State Bureau of Investigation, transparency of prosecution. “It is a revolutionary law. Four previous Presidents didn’t have the political will to adopt it and get rid of the Soviet vestiges in the public prosecution,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized.

 The President also noted the importance of adopting the draft laws on elections and the Law on ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons. “There is also a common position of the President, the Government, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and a request to be responsible in considering the given legislative initiative,” the President said.