BERLIN, Oct. 17 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed Ukraine on Saturday to tackle corruption and roll back the influence of oligarchs, saying German businesses are ready to invest there if the right conditions are in place, Reuters reported.

Merkel made her remarks ahead of a visit to Berlin by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk next Friday, when the two leaders are due to open a German-Ukrainian economic conference at which investment opportunities will be explored.

Praising Ukraine for being on a "courageous path", Merkel said the country still had a lot to do to attract business and needed to put the right legal framework in place.

"The dominant role of the oligarchs needs to be reversed, people need to be given transparency, corruption must be fought," she said in a podcast.

Merkel added that she did not see Russia's supply of natural gas to Ukraine as being threatened.

On Thursday, Merkel said she saw a "glimmer of hope" for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, but insisted sanctions against Russia could be rolled back only once the Minsk peace plan was fully implemented.

The European Union and United States have imposed sanctions against Russia because of its annexation of Crimea and its support for separatist rebels in Ukraine's eastern regions.

Ukraine threatened Thursday to launch a "legal war" with Russia after Moscow held out on a vital debt restructuring agreement needed to stop the crisis-torn nation hurtling towards a default, AFP reported.

The Ukrainian government gave Moscow a strict October 29 deadline to either accept the same terms as its other debt holders or face it in the international courts.

"All of Ukraine's creditors by their majority -- which stands at more than 75 percent of the creditors' committee votes -- agreed to write off Ukraine's debt," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk told a briefing.

The Western-backed leader said the deal struck on Wednesday in London would provide his cash-strapped country with an immediate write-down of $3.0 billion (2.6 billion euros) and restructure future debt worth $8.5 billion.

Ukraine appeared to step back from the brink of default when it reached a 20-percent debt cut agreement in August with four Western investments titans that own about half of Ukraine's $18 billion in maturing commercial debt. (rt/ez)