KYIV, April 28 - The Ukrainian parliament is on track to pass legislation by June 1 to unlock loans from the International Monetary Fund under a $5 billion program, the parliamentary faction chief of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's party told Reuters on Wednesday.

Ukraine secured the IMF deal last year to tide the country through recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but the program stalled over concerns about reforms, central bank independence and the government's efforts to tackle corruption.

To qualify for more IMF loans, Ukraine's parliament must pass legislation at the second and final reading to impose jail sentences on officials who make false asset declarations, after passing a draft bill on April 15.

It must also enact legislative amendments on the status of the country's main anti-corruption agency, NABU, whose ability to operate free from political meddling is closely monitored by Ukraine's Western backers.

Parliament must further pass a third bill on the status of a council governing the conduct of judges.

"June 1st is the deadline for us and both government and parliament and the presidential office are committed to stick to this deadline," Davyd Arakhamia, head of the ruling party's parliamentary group, said in an interview by video call.

The Group of Seven nations in a joint statement last week urged Ukraine to pass the law on NABU in a way that complied with its commitments to the IMF.

Arakhamia said there had been disagreements between Ukraine and its international backers on who got the majority say in appointing NABU's director.

"The model is still not in place but I think that people already start to realize that it should be a compromise."

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said April 19 that Ukraine may be able to complete negotiations with the IMF in July and receive an installment in September.

"This [September] is a good option, which we are moving towards. There is progress so far, and I want to be an optimist in this case," he said in an interview with Lb.ua.

Ukraine cannot afford a significant expansion of the state budget deficit, Marchenko said. "After signing the memorandum, we agreed that in 2022 we will have a deficit of 3.5%,” he said.

Oleh Ustenko, an economic advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Ukraine’s next installment in September may be worth $2 billion. (rt/tl/ez)