KYIV, Nov 20 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ukrainian authorities will continue negotiations discussing the bill on the national budget of Ukraine for 2018 aiming to achieve its deficit of 2.5% of GDP, the lender said.

"Discussions will continue in the coming weeks to ensure that the approved budget is consistent with the 2.5% of GDP deficit target agreed under Ukraine's IMF-supported program," the IMF said in a press release after the IMF staff team visited Kyiv during November 9-17, 2017 for technical discussions on the draft 2018 budget.