KYIV, Jan 18 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects that the Ukrainian authorities will amend the bill on the high anti-corruption court for its second reading and rework the bill on pension reform, IMF Director of the Communications Department Gerry Rice has said.

"The letter that we have sent to the authorities expresses the staff's concerns about inconsistency of several provisions in the draft law with Ukraine's commitments under the [IMF's Extended Fund Facility] program and the Venice Commission's recommendations. We hope that the authorities will take these concerns from the IMF staff into account and that the bill will be amended between readings in parliament," he said at a briefing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, January 18.