Timoshenko bloc to insist on cancelling Yanukovich inauguration.

KIEV, February 18 (Itar-Tass) - The faction of the Bloc of Yulia
Timoshenko (BYT) in the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday will insist on
passing a resolution on cancelling the Verkhovna Rada decision on the
appointment of the date of inauguration of President-elect Viktor
Yanukovich set for February 25, head of the election headquarters of
presidential candidate Yulia Timoshenko, First Vice Prime Minister
Alexander Turchinov said.
According to him, such actions "proceed from the resolution of the
Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) on suspending the effect of the
protocol of February 17 of the Central Election Commission (CEC) on the
official results of the presidential election." "Until the court makes the
decision on the results of the case consideration there can be no
inauguration or oath takings," Turchinov stressed.
On Wednesday, the SAC suspended the CEC decision on the results of the
presidential election until Timoshenko's suit is considered. At the same
time the court did not satisfy a motion of Timoshenko to ban Yanukovich
from presidential oath taking at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada on
February 25. The court ruled that Yanukovich is not a sued person in this
case.
The Party of Regions members are certain that the SAC resolution "will
not change the date of the inauguration of the president-elect." "The SAC
resolution is of procedural nature and is legally justified, but it does
not entail any legal consequences," parliament's deputy from the Party of
Regions Valery Bondyk told journalists.
Deputy CEC chairman Andrei Magera is of the same view. "The court
decision is to appear no later than Sunday, February 21. The inauguration
is set for February 25. There is plenty of time in the period from Sunday
to Thursday," Magera explained adding that the "legal proceedings are of
no consequence for the presidential inauguration date."
He also said that CEC officials have taken the materials of the case
in connection with the suit of Prime Minister Timoshenko in order to
familiarise with them. The question who will be representing the CEC
interests at the court meeting is now being decided. The BYT headquarters
forecast that the SAC will begin the hearing of the Timoshenko suit on the
establishment of the presidential election results on Thursday. The court'
s meetings are expected to be broadcasted live on UT-1 television channel.
The court so far has not named the date of the beginning of the
meetings. It said that Timoshenko's suit will be considered by the whole
SAC staff, therefore event from the technical standpoint a certain time is
needed for the preparation for the meeting.
Timoshenko's statement of action challenging the results of the
presidential election consists of 9 volumes. The prime minister claims
that they contain the evidence of falsifications of the second round of
the election that was held on February 7. Timoshenko demands that the CEC
should be compelled to set the date for a revote (third round) in the
presidential election for the third Sunday after the court's decision
comes into force.
According to official CEC results, leader of the Party of Regions
Viktor Yanukovich got in the second round of the presidential election
48.95 percent of the vote (12,481,266 votes) and Prime Minister Yulia
Timoshenko - 45.47 percent (11,593,357 votes).
The Verkhovna Rada set the date for the inauguration ceremony of the
president-elect for February 25.
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.IMF, Belarus agree on $700 mln loan tranche to Minsk.

WASHINGTON, February 18 (Itar-Tass) - The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and Belarus have reached an agreement at the working level that
should open for Minsk access to IMF resources worth 700 million US
dollars. The IMF Board of Governors is expected to make a decision on this
issue by the end of March.
Head of the IMF mission in Belarus Chris Jarvis said that during a
visit to Minsk on February 3 to 16 he made with the Belarusian authorities
the fourth review of the anti-crisis stabilisation programme implemented
with the Fund's support. The conclusions made were most favourable: the
programme is implemented well and all the criteria and structural
intermediate tasks for the end of December last year have been fulfilled.
The IMF said in a press release that an International Monetary Fund
(IMF) mission, led by Mr. Chris Jarvis, visited Minsk during February
3-16, 2010 to hold discussions with the Belarusian authorities as part of
the fourth and final review of the country's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Jarvis issued the following statement:
"An IMF staff mission and the Belarusian authorities have reached
agreement, subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, on the
completion of the fourth review of the SBA with Belarus. The fourth review
would be considered by the IMF Executive Board before end-March. Upon
completion of the review, an amount of SDR 437.93 million (close to US$700
million) would become available for disbursement.
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