KIEV, January 28 (Sputnik) – The United States and Ukraine have signed a declaration on cooperating in providing loan guarantees, with the United States giving Ukraine $2 billion, Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalya Jaresko said Wednesday.
“A declaration was signed between the US and Ukraine on cooperation in the area of providing loan guarantees. The US government has provided Ukraine a loan guarantee of $2 billion,” Jaresko said at a briefing following a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Kiev.
Washington announced the loan guarantee on January 13, specifying that half of the amount will be available in the first six months of 2015.
Following the February coup, the newly installed Kiev authorities launched a military campaign against independence supporters in the country's southeast. The events in the country resulted in an almost 10-percent decline in GDP, while the hryvna lost about half its value.
Western financial institutions and individual donors have promised Kiev billions of dollars in credit to revive its economy and to undertake structural reforms. The International Monetary Fund has pledged to allocate $17 billion in loans over a two-year period, while Brussels offered $2.1 billion.
