REUTERS
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has announced that the International Monetary Fund will be able to continue to support Ukraine even in the event that a negotiated agreement with creditors "cannot be reached in a timely manner."
"I welcome progress made in [Ukraine's] Parliament yesterday in approving legislation to strengthen the National Bank of Ukraine's independence, which is part of the far-reaching economic and structural reforms supported by the Fund to modernize the economy and restore robust growth," Lagarde said in a statement on June 19.
"The success of the program, however, also rests on the rapid completion of the debt operation with high participation. In this regard, I also welcome the government's continued efforts to reach a collaborative agreement with all creditors. This is important since this means that the Fund will be able to continue to support Ukraine through its Lending-into-Arrears Policy even in the event that a negotiated agreement with creditors in line with the program cannot be reached in a timely manner," the statement reads.
As Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko earlier said, the second tranche of the IMF's loan may arrive in Kyiv as early as in July 2015. She also said that the debt restructuring was not a necessary condition for the IMF tranche.