Russia will back a new program of cooperation between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will help Kiev receive a $12 billion loan, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Sunday.
"I met with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Tigipko. We'll support Ukraine but let me repeat that this will depend on the completion of the work of the IMF mission," Kudrin said at a press conference in Washington where he heads the Russian delegation at the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.
Tigipko earlier said that Ukraine planned to request a $12 bln loan from the IMF under a new partnership program designed for a period of 2.5 years. The Ukrainian authorities expect to reach agreement under the new program in early May and obtain the first loan tranche already in June 2010.
"Russia has made an important contribution to balancing the Ukrainian economy in coming years, considering its decision to reduce gas prices. This also requires other measures, which Ukraine is now agreeing with the IMF. Without our support, Ukraine, most likely, would not have secured an IMF program. Now it has this chance," Kudrin said.
Ukraine's current stand-by program, which began in 2008, amounts to $16.4 billion, with $11 billion already provided in three tranches. The fourth tranche of $3.8 billion was due in late 2009 but has not yet been disbursed because of the recent political instability and the country's failure to adopt its budget.
The IMF mission stayed in Ukraine on March 24 - April 2, 2010 to hold talks with the Ukrainian authorities on the resumption of cooperation.
WASHINGTON, April 25 (RIA Novosti)
