Ukraine, creditors make progress at direct talks in Washington

Ukraine and the ad hoc creditors' committee have made progress at direct talks in Washington, according to a joint statement of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry and the committee.

A meeting to discuss Ukraine's proposed debt operation took place in Washington, DC, on July 15, 2015, between a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and members of the ad hoc creditors' committee, the statement reads.

"The meeting built upon progress made in technical discussions over the last two weeks, including at the tripartite meeting with IMF participation on June 30 and on the conference call between the parties last week," the statement said.

"Further progress was made at the meeting on a number of substantive issues and the parties agreed to focus their attention on narrowing the gaps," it said.

Additional meetings between Ukraine's representatives and the committee are scheduled for the next week to finalize the terms of Ukraine's debt operation as soon as possible.