Zelensky: Ukrainian economy cannot survive without IMF financial support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that currently Ukraine cannot afford to stop borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said this in an interview with four Ukrainian TV channels.
"Today the Ukrainian economy is built in such a way, and it has been built like this since long time ago, that we cannot live without Western money. People need to know about it. Therefore, it was impossible to abandon borrowing the International Monetary Fund," said Zelensky in an interview with Ukrainian TV ChannelsSr.
The President noted that he is grateful to the IMF for financial support.
"But when we say that if our economy were up to par, we could opt out of the IMF loans, and raise money for specific infrastructure projects of the World Bank and other institutions of the financial world. But now our economy is weak," added Zelensky.
The IMF approved a new 18-month stand-by arrangement for Ukraine at 3.6 billion special drawing right(SDR) (about $5 billion) with the immediate allocation of $2.1 billion of the first tranche.
Following the allocation of the first tranche, four revisions to the program were planned: in June, September and December of this year, and June 2021, with the completion on 1 September and 1 December of this year and 15 May and 15 October in the following year. The size of the second and third tranche - $700 million, the third - $560 million and the fourth - $980 million.
The IMF virtual mission for the first revision of the program was supposed to work from 13 to 23 July, but this plan was violated.
Another international funding of Ukraine is also tied to the IMF program. In particular, the successful first review of the stand-by program will allow Kyiv to receive already approved $350 million from the World Bank and 600 million euros from the EU.
On 10 September, the IMF representative was unable to name a possible date for the beginning of the first review of the stand-by program and the allocation of its second tranche.
Deputy Finance Minister for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk noted that the IMF has no complaints about how Ukraine implements the agreements on the structural beacons of the current stand-by agreement, but there is a question to the Constitutional Court's decision on NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau).
Vladimir Greensky explains the delay of the tranche by "the opposition of individuals."