International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a USD 17.1 B bailout for Ukraine to help the country's economy.

The loan is dependent on strict economic reforms, including raising taxes and energy prices.

The money will be released over two years, with the first installment of USD 3.2 B available immediately.

Russia is experiencing recession, and the 2014 growth forecast has been cut to 0.2% from 1.3%, the International Monetary Fund mission chief to Moscow said on Wednesday.

Ukraine and Western-led sanctions are partly to blame, as political tension has dragged down the economic forecast for Russia, which at the beginning of the year, the IMF estimated could reach 3%, reports RT.com.

By Alexis Papachelas

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 2 in Washington for talks expected to focus on the broader economic situation in the eurozone in general and to touch on the Greek economy and on the prospects for a launch of talks on lightening Greece's debt burden.

International Monetary Funds officials have recommended that Ukraine be granted a loan worth USD 17 B aimed at helping Kiev to reduce pressure on the economy.

Greece's general government primary surplus last year, as calculated by the country's international lenders, is estimated at 1.5 billion euros ($2.07 billion), Greece's deputy finance minister said on Wednesday.

Former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou issued a statement on Tuesday denying claims that the International Monetary Fund’s ex-Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn had insisted that the Greek debt be restructured as part of the bailout deal signed in May 2010.

Bulgaria will host the annual meetings between the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank next year.

The government decided on Tuesday to accept an existing proposal according to which the IMF-WB meetings could take place in Bulgaria, Dnevnik.bg has reported.

"Agreement with IMF by end of June"

BELGRADE -- Aleksandar Vučić has said that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be reached by the end of June.

The SNS leader and the next prime minister added that the solidarity tax will be scrapped and that a budget review will be done after a government is formed.

By Katerina Sokou

Structural reforms are the way out of the financial crisis for Greece, according to the International Monetary Fund, whose Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that «the journey is not over, there are still more structural reforms to implement and plenty of work to be done on the way."