The Wall Street Journal reports,''Ukraine may need a short-term emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to help bridge its financing needs, as Kiev negotiates a larger bailout, a U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday''.
"Ukraine could need a bridge, a short-term assistance package as a means to get to a larger agreement with the IMF," Daleep Singh, Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasia, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "We don't know yet whether that flexibility will be needed, but it's a good idea to have it," he said.
The comments mark the first time the Obama administration has publicly acknowledged the possibility of a short-term IMF loan for Ukraine, a potential bailout strategy that European nations have discussed. The U.S. is the IMF's largest and most powerful member, making its views critical to the fund's broader rescue plans.
Ukraine's economy is months away from default, following years of mismanagement. The country's political crisis, which has spawned a clash between Russia and the West, is accelerating the economy's demise.
The U.S. plans to supplement an IMF bailout for the pro-western government in Ukraine with its own financing package.
