IMF mission hopes for quick agreement on second tranche to Ukraine

The International Monetary Fund mission arrived in Kyiv yesterday and restarted negotiations with key politicians. At a press conference, IMF mission head Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said she hoped to reach a “quick” agreement on the disbursal of a second tranche of Ukraine’s USD 16.5 bln loan; a Finance Ministry representative said he expected the mission to finish its work within a week. Next week Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada will vote on three remaining anti-crisis laws that it did not pass last week; both President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko have assured the IMF of the passage of these bills.