Ukraine has said it hopes to soon successfully conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for loans of the equivalent of up to 14.5 billion euros. <br /><br />Announcing that Finance Minister Oleksander Shlapak told reporters the government believes the economy will continue to slow down and stagnate – contracting by three percent this year – due to mismanagement and the recent political turmoil.<br /><br />The problem is the IMF will want austerity measures, which will be unpopular and risk further destabilising the Ukraine. <br /><br />It would be the third IMF bailout for the country since 2008. The new government hopes to receive the first tranche of a financial aid package in April.<br /><br />The IMF team arrived in Kyiv just over three weeks ago to assess the country’s economic situation. <br /><br />Ukraine’s government has said it desperately needs cash to cover expenses including gas import payments and to avert a possible debt default.
