Ukraine president plans to implement land reform this year

KIEV: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Ukraine will implement land reform this year and that his government would carry out major privatisations.

"We will appoint a professional government and choose a decent general prosecutor. We will certainly take advantage of our chance to change the country," he told investors in Turkey in remarks that were broadcast on Ukrainian television.

"This year we will definitely carry out land reform, which next year will create a land market of 40 million hectares."

Zelenskiy has promised to lift longstanding moratorium on the sale of farmland, which would please many investors but risks a political backlash.