REUTERS
A key condition for the new cooperation program between IMF and Ukraine is that the conflict in the east of the country does not worsen, IMF Mission Chief for Ukraine Thanos Arvanitis has said during a briefing in Washington.
According to him, the new program is longer, more extensive and flexible.
"The key condition to the program is the non-development of the conflict. We used this as the basis when laying out macroeconomic indicators," Arvanitis said, without specifying whether the program would be revised if there is a change in the situation in the east.
Arvanitis said that the IMF program is based on expectations that the Ukrainian economy will no longer be affected by this conflict, and the fall of GDP in 2015 is projected at 5.5%, and in 2016 the economy is to resume growth with the GDP growing by 2%.
"We hope that the model of economic growth for 2015 and beyond will not be affected by the conflict, the economy will start to recover due to the reforms within the framework of this program," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the International Monetary Fund approved the program of financial assistance for Ukraine, designed for four years, under the Enhanced Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and worth a total of $17.5 billion. The first tranche under the new program will amount to $5 billion.