US offers funding for Ukraine alongside IMF rescue programme
The United States has said it is ready to provide funding to post-Yanukovich Ukraine as the West seeks to bolster the economy in the wake of Russian opposition.
The United States said on Monday it was ready to provide financial assistance to Ukraine to complement a loan programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the aftermath of the ouster of Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovich.
Two days after the dramatic departure of pro-Moscow Yanukovich after bloody clashes in Kiev, the White House sought to apply subtle pressure on Russia to let events unfold in Ukraine without interference. This message has been delivered repeatedly in recent days from President Barack Obama on down.
Signaling US concerns that Russian intervention could trigger more violence, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters: “It is certainly not in Russia’s interests for there to be violence and instability in Ukraine.”
With Kiev in desperate need of cash as it charts a new future, US officials said Washington would be willing to provide some assistance in addition to an IMF programme which could go into effect after a new government is set up.
International financial diplomats told reporters that one option under review to help prop up Ukraine’s ailing economy was a bailout that would include IMF money as well as bilateral loans and guarantees from governments.
It was unclear whether Russia will be willing to go along with an international bailout although the financial diplomats said Moscow was part of the conversation.