WASHINGTON, October 9. /TASS/. The current conflict in Ukraine is just a thunderstorm on the horizon of world economy, Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday as she answered a question from TASS at a news conference in the run-up to an annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank’s governing agencies.

Lagarde was quoted earlier this week as saying the impact from the crisis in Ukraine could spread quickly.

"While the impact of the conflict in Ukraine has been relatively contained to date, further escalation could generate significant negative spillovers, both regionally and globally," she said.

When a reporter asked her on Thursday what grounds for optimism she could see while taking a look at Russia and neighboring countries, Lagarde said that on the one hand the regional starts were implementing the necessary reforms and other the other hand, there was an inflow of investment.

She called on the countries of the regions to pool their forces so as to reach their objectives.