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IMF Chief Discouraged by Dutch EU-Ukraine Association Agreement 'No' Vote

© REUTERS / Valentyn OgirenkoUkrainian President Petro Poroshenko greets International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde after a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, September 6, 2015
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko greets International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde after a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, September 6, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Christine Lagarde said she was "not encouraged" by the Dutch referendum opposing the European Union’s association agreement with Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016. - Sputnik International
Ukraine's Drive to Join EU Must be Uninterrupted - German Chancellor
MOSCOW (Sputnik) International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Thursday she was "not encouraged" by the Dutch referendum opposing the European Union’s association agreement with Ukraine.

"I was not encouraged by the vote that took place this morning in the Netherlands," Lagarde said at an annual Women in the World summit in New York City.

On Wednesday, 61.1 percent of Dutch voters rejected the EU-Ukraine association deal’s ratification in the advisory referendum, according to preliminary results ahead of their April 12 publication.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement establishes a political and economic association between Kiev and Brussels. The Netherlands is the last EU country to ratify the 2014 deal to this effect. The agreement’s free trade economic zone took effect on January 1 this year.

Lagarde said another risk "on the horizon" was the June 23 referendum for the United Kingdom to stay or leave the European Union.

"The risk of Brexit is a worry. It's a worry because it's uncertainty, it's apprehension, the outcome of any new regime is totally unknown, and it's a worry. London is a big financial city, has huge links around Europe and around the world, and it's one of the risks that we have on the horizon as well," she stressed.

Opinion polls gave a 1-percent edge to Vote Remain supporters this week as a nationwide scandal broke out over the British government’s $13-million plan to distribute leaflets promoting a pro-EU campaign.

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