UKRAINIAN REFORMS ACKNOWLEDGED.

British prime minister John Major yesterday in Kiev stated that the success of Ukraine’s economic reforms is "a key factor of stability in Europe." Major described Ukraine’s reforms as "a difficult and painful task, requiring courage to carry out." He encouraged Ukrainians to demonstrate patience during "the necessary gap in time between the start of reforms and their results, which will become visible soon."

In Washington, International Monetary Fund managing director Michel Camdessus announced yesterday that the IMF and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a $900 million loan, to be disbursed through the end of 1996, to support Ukrainian economic reforms. Camdessus said the Fund will in the future require Ukraine to follow the same procedure as Russia, whereby the IMF monitors the government’s performance on a monthly, instead of the usual three-monthly, basis before agreeing to release loans. He also said negotiations would soon begin on a long-term loan to support Ukraine’s reform program over the next three years. (UPI, April 18) Camdessus noted that Ukraine had made progress in reducing the rate of inflation and in slowing the decline in output. (Interfax-Ukraine, Western agencies, April 18)

Kiev Views G-7 Nuclear Summit with Hope and Doubt.