The IMF is concerned about the intention of the Ukrainian government to cut the gas price for the population in the near future. Serhiy Marchenko, the Finance Minister reported that as quoted by NV.
According to the official, Ukraine took a commitment in the memorandum with the IMF, which obliges the country to shape the tariffs on the natural gas market. Marchenko underlined that the decision to cut the prices has not been made yet. It can be done in the near future. For now, the consultations are underway - in particular, with the IMF.
"Our partners are well aware that the decision is possible. They react in a certain way; they are concerned that we have been reconsidering the previously taken commitments. Currently, it's about being part of the mechanism or a temporary decision. The Acting Energy Minister has been actively solving this matter. By the way, he had a telephone conversation with the IMF yesterday. I believe that today, respective consultations will be held as well. So, it's a permanent process, it is taking place all the time. For now, there are no reasons to say we already did something bad", the Minister said.
Besides, Marchenko claimed that the governemnt is now trying to explain to IMF that keeping the current gas prices could have negative consequences for the Ukrainian economy.