KIEV, July 12 – An International Monetary Fund team has completed negotiations with the Ukrainian government and will now report to the board of directors, which will decide on whether to resume lending to the country.

“We have actually completed the negotiations,’ Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said Tuesday. “The only question now is the board.”

Ukraine hopes the IMF perhaps this month can resume its $17.5 billion bailout program and disburse at least $1.7 billion installment to the country after a nine-month delay.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman led a government delegation to the U.S. last month for talks with the Washington-based lender to see what reforms the government needs to implement before the lending can be resumed.

The IMF suspended its loans to Ukraine in October 2015 after the government of then-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk did little to combat corruption.

The political infighting between pro-government groups in Parliament further delayed reforms and led to a reshuffle of the government in April with Hroysman, an ally of President Petro Poroshenko, replacing Yatseniuk.

Hroysman said last week the government’s negotiations with the IMF team were “quite constructive” and that he was “optimistic” the lending will be resumed later this year.

The IMF praised the Hroysman government in May for restoring political stability after the reshuffle, but added the government needed to boost efforts to improve transparency and the rule of law.

"Steadfast implementation of structural and institutional reforms is now critical," IMF’s Ron van Rood said in a statement in May.

"Unwavering determination in the fight against corruption (is) emerging as a litmus test for the government’s ability to retain broad domestic and international support for its policies," van Rood said.

Ukraine's Western backers, including the United States, have expressed cautious support for the Hroysman government, which immediately took several key steps, such as hiking domestic natural gas prices to market level tor educe budget deficit.

The IMF board of directors is expected to consider disbursing the $1.7 billion installment to Ukraine in July, people familiar with the situation said. (nr/ez)