FT: West had been ready to loan Kiev €20bn

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20 December 2013, 19:12

“The €20bn, which one official said was a conservative figure, would have come mainly via the International Monetary Fund under tough conditions. But the European Commission would have helped “fast-track” disbursement of the funds, according to a separate EU memo,” FT reports.

EU officials said Russia’s bailout, including $15bn in bond buying and a gas price reduction worth at least $4bn, pushed Kiev further away from western Europe, adding that talks on an EU deal remained frozen for the time being.

READ ALSO: I Shall Not Give Up!

Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, said on Friday, December, 20th, that would have "frank" talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine next month.

"We won't avoid the problem, we will speak openly about our concerns, about the pressure put not only on Ukraine but on other countries in the east of the EU and Europe," said Mr Van Rompuy, who is president of the European Council.

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