KIEV, March 11 – The government on Wednesday approved a number of decisions complying with demands from the International Monetary Fund in hopes of getting a $1.84 billion installment before the end of the month.

The decisions strengthen the independence of the National Bank of Ukraine by removing earlier provisions that had required the NBU to lend money directly to the government to finance the budget deficit.

A vote in Parliament is required to approve budget amendments that stop requiring the NBU from purchasing the government’s Treasury bills. The government hopes the measures will unlock the IMF lending within weeks.

“There is a great probability that the IMF team will return to Kiev and a decision will be approved to unlock the second installment before the end of the month,” Hryhoriy Nemyria, a deputy prime minister, told Channel 5 television late Wednesday.

The IMF last month suspended $1.84 billion installment to Ukraine within its $12.4 billion rescue package approved last year after the government had refused to comply with the fund’s major demands.

The IMF was especially concerned that falling budget revenue had been widening budget deficit dramatically, while the government’s plans to rely on borrowing from the NBU would only make the situation worse.

The latest decisions would prevent the government from relying on the NBU’s loans, but Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko insists that any budget spending should not be made before April or May.

Ukraine counts on the IMF lending for avoiding default on foreign debt obligations this year and next as credit crunch has been making it difficult to borrow from markets worldwide.

President Viktor Yushchenko, Tymoshenko and National Bank of Ukraine Governor Volodymyr Stelmakh met on Wednesday to map out strategy that would allow Ukraine to qualify for the IMF’s installment.

Yushchenko praised the government for removing provisions that had required the NBU to buy Treasury bills, and said the move would also remove downward pressure on the hryvnia, the local currency.

“I believe this is a great victory and a major compromise,’ Yushchenko said after the meeting. “So, the stability of the Ukrainian hryvnia is not in danger.”

The hryvnia lost about 50% of its value against the U.S. dollar since September as falling exports of steel, Ukraine’s main export commodity, reduced supply of hard currency to the domestic market. (tl/ez)