Russia is prepared to lobby Ukraine's interests in international financial institutions and help it receive funds required to patch up its economy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.
Speaking before students at Kiev State University, Medvedev said that the 2008 global financial and economic crisis especially hit Russia and Ukraine harder than other countries.
"What do we have to do? We need to try to get out of this crisis and avoid hysteria, solve the financial problems which have accumulated, resorting, of course, to mutual assistance and the services of international financial organizations," Medvedev said.
Medvedev said Russia had recently bought International Monetary Fund (IMF) bonds worth $10 billion and was indifferent on how these funds would be spent.
Russian Finance Minster Alexei Kudrin said in late April that Russia will back a new program of cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF, which will help Kiev receive a $12-billion loan.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Tigipko earlier mentioned Ukraine would seek $12 billion from the IMF under a new partnership program designed for a period of 2.5 years.
Tigipko, however, said later that Ukraine might seek as much as $19-20 billion from the IMF under a new partnership program for two and a half years, adding that Ukrainian authorities expected the first tranche to be disbursed as early as June 2010.
In 2008, the IMF granted a $16.4-billion loan to Ukraine, of which the government has so far received $10.6 billion.
Further payments were frozen in late 2009 after Ukraine raised minimum wages and pensions contrary to IMF recommendations and amid political instability.
The IMF mission last visited Ukraine between March 24 and April 2 of this year to discuss the resumption of cooperation.
On Tuesday, the European parliament approved the allocation of a 500 million euro ($615 million) loan to Ukraine to help the ex-Soviet republic overcome the financial crisis.
KIEV, May 18
RIA Novosti
