Washington, Feb 15 (Agency) The US has offered Ukraine a sovereign loan guarantee of up to $1 billion as the Russian invasion fears has affected Kyiv’s economy. US State Department spokesperson Antony Blinken on Monday said, “The US government is offering a sovereign loan guarantee to Ukraine of up to $1 billion to support its economic reform agenda and continued engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“This offer?– combined with the strong partnership between Ukraine, the IMF, other international financial institutions, the G7 and other bilateral donors – will bolster Ukraine’s ability to ensure economic stability, growth, and prosperity for its people in the face of Russia’s destabilizing behaviour.” He further said that the US’ Export-Import Bank will be giving “up to $3 billion to facilitate procurement of US goods and services for projects in Ukraine, while the International Development Finance Corporation has a current investment portfolio in Ukraine of approximately $800 million across more than a dozen projects”.
The US will continue to work on ways to support Ukraine and its people, the spokesperson added. Earlier, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden in a telephonic conversation discussed the situation around Ukraine and agreed that there was still a “window” for diplomacy. “The Prime Minister and President Biden updated one another on their recent discussions with fellow world leaders. They agreed there remained a crucial window for diplomacy and for Russia to step back from its threats towards Ukraine,” Downing Street added.