Ukraine has said it hopes to soon successfully conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for loans of the equivalent of up to 14.5 billion euros.
Announcing that Finance Minister Oleksander Shlapak told reporters the government believes the economy will continue to slow down and stagnate – contracting by three percent this year – due to mismanagement and the recent political turmoil.
The problem is the IMF will want austerity measures, which will be unpopular and risk further destabilising the Ukraine.
It would be the third IMF bailout for the country since 2008. The new government hopes to receive the first tranche of a financial aid package in April.
The IMF team arrived in Kyiv just over three weeks ago to assess the country’s economic situation.
Ukraine’s government has said it desperately needs cash to cover expenses including gas import payments and to avert a possible debt default.
