Ukrainian premier hopes for constructive talks with IMF

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said he hopes for constructive talks with the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"We have proposals regarding the continuation of cooperation with the IMF, and we hope for constructive discussions with the mission," he wrote on his page on Facebook, when communicating with users on Friday.

The IMF mission is expected to arrive in Kyiv for talks with the state authorities on January 24.

As reported, with reference to the IMF's representative office in Ukraine, the visit of the IMF mission was postponed until the second half of January at Ukraine's request.

The current Stand-By Arrangement between Ukraine and the IMF terminated in late 2012.

In late July 2010, the IMF decided to renew its loan partnership with Ukraine through a new Stand-By Arrangement worth SDR 10 billion (over $15 billion). According to the NBU, the country succeeded in getting two tranches worth a total of $3.4 billion.

The new program was frozen at the stage of the second review in the spring of 2011. For a year and a half, Ukraine has been trying to persuade the IMF to drop its objections to the government's subsidizing natural gas tariffs for households until the completion of its gas talks with Russia.