The International Monetary Fund acts unfairly in relation to Ukraine, putting forward the same demands to it as to other countries.

This was stated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press, an excerpt from which was published by the press service of the office of the President of Ukraine.

Zelensky explained that the IMF is unfair in relation to Ukraine, since we are talking about a country that "has been in a state of war for the eighth year and is forced to choose the priority areas for reform in a different way."

“I think one cannot compare the strategy of the IMF's behavior with Ukraine with other countries.

Our country simply cannot be put on a par with others.

Because we have complexity, because there is a war going on.

Because money is spent not on priorities from the point of view of the economy, but from the point of view of security.

First, the military, first medicine, then everything else, ”the President of Ukraine said.

At the same time, Zelensky stressed that continued cooperation with the IMF is important for the economic stability and investment climate of Ukraine, since other financial support programs are tied to the fund's program.

“Therefore, we will definitely do everything we have promised,” Zelensky concluded.

An RT source in the office of the President of Ukraine noted that the Zelensky administration cannot fulfill some of the IMF requirements for political reasons.

“The fund demands to reduce the influence of oligarchs on the economy, and the president’s entourage understands that real steps in this direction can lead to a revolution in the country.

The oligarchs can start a real persecution of Zelensky through all their media and bring the disaffected to the streets.

The bonuses that are offered to Ukraine for all these steps are scanty, they are only a couple of billion in loans.

Zelensky wants concessions, but whether he can dictate the terms of the IMF is a big question, "the interlocutor of RT explained.

Waiting for a tranche

Recall that in the summer of 2020, the IMF approved a new stand-by support program for Ukraine for a period of one and a half years and in the amount of $ 5 billion. Kiev has already received the first tranche of $ 2.1 billion. It was assumed that the remaining amount will be transferred in four tranches. 

Under the terms of the program, the Ukrainian authorities had to continue the reform to raise the retirement age to 60 years and introduce a funded pension system.

The Verkhovna Rada said that the conditions of the IMF are unacceptable.

The leader of the faction of the pro-presidential party "Servant of the People" David Arakhamia said that a compromise with the fund during the negotiations is unlikely, but Kiev has time to "discuss" this issue.

It is worth noting that the retirement age in Ukraine was nevertheless increased to 60 years from April 1, 2021.

At the same time, the bill on funded pensions was sent by the Verkhovna Rada for revision.   

  • Ministry of Finance of Ukraine

  • © Wikimedia

In turn, the party "Opposition Platform - For Life" demanded that the authorities report to the Rada on all obligations undertaken by Kiev to the IMF.

In October 2020, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kiev had fulfilled all the requirements of the fund to receive the next tranche of credit assistance.

At the same time, he mentioned the presence of certain persons who allegedly interfere with this process.

“We have been waiting for the second tranche for a long time.

I believe that we have done everything.

But I believe that both inside the country and outside there are people who work against the state of Ukraine.

And they, believe me, are lobbying their interests so that there is no stability in Ukraine, "Ukrainian Pravda quoted Zelensky as saying.

The Ukrainian leader did not begin to clarify who these persons were, or to name their names.

Zelenskiy added that the country cannot live without money from the IMF.

“Today the economy is so built in Ukraine, and it has been built in such a way that we cannot live without Western money.

People need to know about this.

Therefore, it was impossible to abandon the International Monetary Fund, ”Zelensky added.

In November 2020, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine announced the successful completion of negotiations with the IMF on the main provisions of the draft state budget of the country, which was one of the main prerequisites for receiving the next tranche.

"The main focus of the talks was related to the formation of a common vision of the main budgetary indicators with the IMF - the framework of revenues, expenditures and deficits," the ministry said in a statement.

However, at the same time, the adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Tymofiy Mylovanov said that in 2020 Kiev will not have time to receive a new IMF tranche.

“There will be no tranche.

This is unrealistic.

Physically and calendar-wise, we do not have time.

There will be no tranche this year, ”said a functionary of the Zelensky administration.

At the same time, Mylovanov added that Kiev can reach agreements with the fund at the working level by the end of the year, which can allow Ukraine to attract funding from other international structures.

Unsuccessful work

In December 2020, the IMF mission began its work in Ukraine to revise the stand-by program.

In February 2021, the permanent representative of the fund in Ukraine, Josta Lyngman, said that the mission had completed its work without result, and that for the successful completion of the first revision of the program, Kiev must make more progress.

In turn, Zelensky, who previously announced the fulfillment of all the requirements of the IMF, now said that Ukraine still did not fulfill a number of conditions necessary to receive the next tranche.

“The program was not completed because of some things.

For example, in the legal area - the law on the High Council of Justice.

They were fed for many years that there will be such a law.

And now we have to do some things very quickly.

It's not easy, ”RIA Novosti quoted Zelensky as saying.

The President of Ukraine added that Kiev expects to receive the money by the end of 2021.

Reform of the justice system is one of the demands put forward by the Navy to Kiev.

In February of this year, Zelensky announced that he had submitted bills to the Rada that would strengthen the rule of law and intensify the transformation of Ukrainian courts, one of which is the draft law on the High Council of Justice.

At the end of March, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said that the country felt "uncomfortable" without IMF loans.

“We are already uncomfortable.

It was like that last year.

The end of 2020 was very difficult, but we managed to agree on the parameters of the 2021 budget and get macrofin from the EU.

To do this, in November, we discussed the budget with our partners every day for two weeks, ”he said.

Marchenko noted that the budget of Ukraine provides for new loans from the IMF, and the state does not have the opportunity to receive financial assistance elsewhere.

An RT source in the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance said that the department expects the receipt of a new tranche in September this year.

“Ukraine with a creak, but still fulfills the requirements of the IMF, and we believe that about $ 3 billion will enter the country in September.

The problem is that until the IMF gives its loan, other lenders, like the World Bank, also refuse to cooperate with Ukraine.

And without this money, the country cannot survive.

Ukraine still spends more than it earns, ”a ministry official said in a conversation with RT.

In turn, the interlocutor of RT from the Batkivshchyna party noted that "in fact, the country's leadership is on a short leash with the IMF."

“For the fund, a couple of billion dollars a year is not an amount at all, but for this money you can force the government and deputies of the whole country to act on orders.

And, apparently, getting off this dollar needle is not in the plans of the country's leadership.

This means that our children will no longer pay for today's debts, but our grandchildren, ”said the representative of Batkivshchyna.

  • © REUTERS / Johannes P. Christo

Making statements about the injustice of the IMF, Zelensky is looking for reasons and explanations for the fact that the current authorities of Kiev are not managing the country, Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at the IMEMO RAS, explained in an interview with RT.

“The current leadership of the country is incompetent, it is inclined towards confrontation, not cooperation.

Zelensky's administration is set up only to receive help and support from the outside, and the use of the large resource that Ukraine has is not expected, because it does not know how to do this, ”the analyst emphasized.

Zelensky's position is dictated by his unwillingness to manage the economy, added Volodymyr Olenchenko.

“If you look objectively, the IMF has no reason to respond to these unreasonable demands.

However, if there is an interest in pushing Ukraine to make it more inferior to the requirements of the United States, then the IMF can make some concessions, ”the expert noted.

Political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak, in an interview with RT, described the International Monetary Fund as a mechanism that works in the interests of global capital and transnational corporations.

“In different periods of time, Ukraine has built different relations with the IMF.

For example, under the Azarov government, this international organization did not allow itself to set political conditions and gave loans at low interest rates.

Today Zelensky's indignation is unfounded, because Ukraine has been following the conditions put forward for the last time, ”the expert emphasized.

By the collective efforts of the West, Ukraine was deprived of its reliable partners who could offer it loans without political conditions, Alexander Dudchak added.

“In addition, the IMF has created an unbearable burden of debt for the country in order to finally destroy its sovereignty. If now Kiev refuses to fulfill the requirements of the fund, then in the future it will not only lose tranches, but also receive negative ratings and forecasts of international lending organizations in all financial loan markets. As a result, the remaining foreign capital will simply be withdrawn from the country. Considering that this could lead to a default, the Ukrainian authorities continue to bear this burden and agree with any terms of the IMF, ”the political scientist concluded.