Ukraine to secure IMF loan tranche, new minister says

Newly appointed Economy and Trade Minister Ihor Prasolov assured the public that the Ukrainian government will secure an IMF loan tranche. “The latest negotiations between Ukraine and the IMF are planned for January 2013,” he said in an interview published on Dec. 26 in the newspaper of the Cabinet of Ministers. “When a crisis is dominating throughout the world and the prospects of the EU’s existence remain unclear, it’s very important for us for Ukraine to gain positive signals. We are sure that Ukraine will successfully conduct negotiations and sign the appropriate documents.”

Zenon Zawada: Been there, done that. Even the highest ranking Ukrainian officials have made similar claims in the past, to no avail. Without concrete proposals to satisfy stiff IMF demands, the likelihood of such claims remains no better than 50/50. Ukraine has to prove it’s ready to cooperate by responding to at least one of IMF’s critical demands: higher gas tariffs and a more liberal exchange policy.