Deutsche Welle, 1 May 2014
The IMF has
approved a $17 billion (12 billion euro) bailout package for Ukraine to help
the country's ailing economy. Russia, meanwhile, has said it "will not
rush to anything stupid" in response to Western pressure.
The IMF's
executive board signed off on the two-year aid program on Wednesday. The
bailout paves the way for an immediate deployment of $3.2 billion to Kyiv,
which is in the midst of its worst economic turmoil since independence in 1991.
Of the
immediate $3.2 that will help Ukraine avoid a potential debt default, $2
billion will be aimed at supporting the budget.
The
overthrow of Pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych in February, and the
installation of a pro-Western interim government that has vowed reforms, has
opened the door to new loans from the IMF. But the political unrest in Ukraine
has had harsh repercussions for the country's economy.
On
Wednesday, Pro-Russian separatists seized government offices in more Ukrainian
towns in the east, a further sign that Kyiv is losing control of its industrial
heartland along the Russian border.
Moscow has
already annexed the Crimean peninsula and is amassing its forces along the
Ukrainian border, threatening to support the separatists in the east. Ukraine
said Wednesday its military was on "full combat alert" against a
possible Russian invasion.
Moscow not
'going to rush'
The United
States and European Union have responded to Russia's actions by imposing sanctions, a move Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said was "totally
without sense."
Nonetheless,
Lavrov said Wednesday during a news conference in Santiago after meeting with
his Chilean counterpart: "We are not going to rush into stupid things. We
want to give our partners the possibility to calm themselves."
He said
Russia would reevaluate its stance if Western nations continued to try to hand
out punishment.
"If
their actions are going to continue, if they are going to use economic levers,
in that case we are going to have to study a different approach," said
Lavrov.
Lavrov said
the most important thing was to promote dialogue between Kyiv and pro-Moscow
activists, particularly in areas with large Russian populations.
He also
called for separatists in Ukraine's east to free OSCE observers held in the
rebel stronghold of Slovyansk. But he cautioned Russia "can't make
decisions for these militias," saying "you have to take into account
the threats these militias face from Kyiv."
dr/ccp (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)
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