OREANDA-NEWS. January 23, 2012. Ukraine can dispense with the credit of the IMF but would like to continue cooperation with the IMF on the stand-by. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov said this at a press conference with central and regional media.

"You ask whether we can dispense with loans of the IMF. I have no doubt that we can. I had not such doubts in 2011 too, and that year we lived. But we would like to continue cooperation with the IMF, and implement cooperation programs. We will do everything to ensure that this program works"- the Prime Minister said.

PM explained the cooperation with the IMF – it is the cheapest money in the market. "We have still to cancel a credit that our predecessors took in 2008-2009 years" - Mykola Azarov said.

According to him now a discussion with the IMF continues: "Finally, (I'll tell you so), the IMF has become more loyal to the Ukraine".

Mykola Azarov gave the example of Greece, which during three years 'tightens belt" and leads the regime of austerity, but still has a deficit budget at 9%. "We have managed from 15 to 1.7% to reduce the deficit, and not resorted to any measures for reducing budget expenditures, and the more social spending", - Mykola Azarov said. He believes that the compression of spending leads to lowering purchasing power of people, and this - to limit the internal market and, accordingly, creates a crisis in the economy, "Yes, it is necessary to stabilize state spending - mandatory, but we have to be correctly how to develop the economy, how to save, at least the purchasing power of people how to increase purchasing power"

The Prime Minister said that the Government is prepared for IMF a package of proposals that will show the balance of our approach.