KIEV, March 30 - The International Monetary Fund executive board will meet on April 3 to decide whether to disburse a $1 billion aid tranche to Ukraine as part of its $17.5 billion bailout program for the country, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The IMF had delayed the disbursement from March in order to assess the impact of a blockade that Kiev imposed on separatist-held territory.

The board on March 20 postponed a meeting to discuss completion of the third review of its extended fund facility program for Ukraine.

The delay was caused by the need to "clarify economic consequences of the measures Ukraine introduced in response to the blockade and seizure of Ukrainian enterprises in the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and also in light of the Russian recognition of documents issued in those areas," the Finance Ministry said.

On March 16, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree enacting the National Security and Defense Council resolution of March 15 to temporarily suspend cargo transportation across the contact line in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The resolution does not apply to humanitarian cargo and people crossing the contact line.

On March 4, the IMF and the Ukrainian authorities reached agreement on a memorandum on economic and financial policy which paves way for completion of the third review of the EFF program, following which Ukraine could be granted a fourth tranche of SDR 734.05 million (around $1 billion).

The four-year EFF program launched by the IMF in March 2015, in the total amount of SDR 12.348 billion (around $17.25 billion), initially involved quarterly reviews of the program, with the first tranche of $5 billion, and the next three, SDR 1.18 billion each (around $1.65 billion), to be paid during 2015, and decreasing quarterly tranches to SDR 0.44 billion ($0.61 billion) in 2016-2018. (rt/ez)