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Ukraine should pay 6 bln dlrs of debt to IMF in 2013

Ukraine should pay six billion dollars of debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

KIEV, December 8 (Itar-Tass) —— Ukraine should pay six billion dollars of debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2013, acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said live on the local television on Friday evening.

“Next year we should pay six billion dollars of a credit, which the previous Ukrainian government had taken from the IMF to build the roads, which had been laid only for 67 kilometres. In the previous year we have already repaid three billion dollars of debt and 1.5 billion dollars this year,” Azarov said. Meanwhile, he noted that the country’s government and the National Bank can ensure the stability of the currency system without any external borrowings.

“We understand the IMF terms (to resume the financing of Kiev – Itar-Tass), but we also understand that we cannot increase the tariffs to people with such a high price for Russian gas, that the IMF particularly demands,” the acting premier said.

On December 6, the IMF stated that the fund delayed a visit of its mission due on December 7-17 to the second half of January 2013. Last time representatives of the international financial organization visited Ukraine in late October. Then the IMF technical mission particularly discussed a governmental program for the reform of the financial sector, the creation of more favourable conditions for the bank crediting in the country and the priorities of the reforms for the next year.

In July 2010 a new program of cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF was approved and will be complete in the end of this year. The program envisages an IMF credit to Kiev for over 15 billion dollars with 3.5% per annum. Right after the approval of the program Ukraine received the first tranche of 1.89 billion dollars. The IMF board of directors decided to allocate the second tranche of 1.5 billion dollars on December 22, 2010. However, Kiev did not receive this tranche after all. President Viktor Yanukovich stated earlier that “Ukraine is a reliable IMF partner, repays the loans timely and intends to cooperate with the fund efficiently and mutually beneficially in the future.”

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