Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

The Ukrainian government has asked the European Commission not to link the allocation of a 610 million euro loan to the possible provision of the fourth tranche of a loan from the International Monetary Fund. The Ukrainian government has asked the European Commission not to link the allocation of a 610 million euro loan to the possible provision of the fourth tranche of a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a source in the Cabinet of Ministers has told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The reception of the loan [from the European Commission] is linked to the implementation of a memorandum of cooperation with the IMF. We're trying to separate the allocation of these funds from the provision of the next tranche from the IMF, and Ukraine's readiness to continue to implement the memorandum was discussed at a meeting between [Ukrainian] Premier [Yulia Tymoshenko] and the ambassadors of [the G8 and EU] countries," he said.

As reported, Ukrainian Vice Premier Hryhoriy Nemyria said at a press conference onNov. 9that he had spoken with representatives of the European Commission on the provision of a 610 million euro loan to Ukraine. He said that this amount could be allocated to Ukraine if the country continues its program of cooperation with the IMF.

The loan could be provided in three tranches, and the possibility of granting the first tranche, worth EUR 110 million, has already been agreed by all of the EU agencies, he said.