KIEV, April 14 - Parliament approved presidential ally Volodymyr Hroysman as prime minister on Thursday in the biggest political shakeup since a 2014 uprising brought in a pro-Western leadership, Reuters reported.

President Petro Poroshenko said he hopes the appointment of the former parliamentary speaker will end months of political deadlock that has delayed billions of dollars in foreign loans needed to shore up Ukraine's war-battered economy.

But the departure from the cabinet of experienced technocrats, including U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko, who led strategic talks with Western lenders and investors has rattled pro-European reformists. Some deputies said the new government would struggle to get laws approved.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke on Thursday to Hroysman, emphasizing the need to move quickly on reforms and implementing the Minsk ceasefire agreement with Russia, the White House said.

"The vice president stressed that, in order to maintain international support for Ukraine, the new team should move forward quickly on Ukraine's reform program, including fulfilling its IMF commitments, as well as on Minsk implementation and the confirmation of a new, reformist prosecutor general," Reuters reported citing the White House.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Hroysman, 38, said his government was committed to tackling Ukraine's endemic corruption and strengthening ties with the European Union.

"I understand the threats that face us. In particular I would like to highlight three threats - corruption, ineffective governance and populism, which do not pose less of a threat than the enemy in eastern Ukraine," he said, referring to the conflict with pro-Russian separatists.

A new government should allow talks to resume on the disbursement of a third tranche of loans from the International Monetary Fund worth $1.7 billion, delayed since October.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in February that Ukraine’s bailout would be at risk without major efforts to improve governance and clamp down on endemic corruption.

But Hroysman’s appointment may not quickly resolve concerns at the IMF, in the U.S. and European creditors about Kiev’s commitment to deliver on the promised overhauls meant to tackle those long-festering problems and put the country’s financing back onto a healthy footing.

Besides comments from the energy ministry about easing gas subsidy cuts, a move that would roll back a key IMF condition, the government rejected an effort to install a technocratic cabinet that could have pushed through controversial economic reforms. (rt/ez)