1 Russia and the International Monetary Fund suspended talks on a $6 billion loan Monday amid soaring inflation and skepticism about the 1995 Russian budget.
2 An IMF spokesman said the discussions would resume later this month.
3 'The talks have been making progress,' said the IMF spokesman, speaking only on condition of anonymity. 'Some areas need to be sorted out.'
4 Asked if the suspension would delay the loan, the spokesman said, 'There was never any timetable on the loan. We never set deadlines on our talks. It puts too much pressure on the government and on our folks.'
5 Russian officials had hoped to wrap up the IMF agreement this week, but sources close to the talks have suggested the IMF may not release the money until the spring.
6 The IMF spokesman refused to discuss details of the negotiations, but IMF officials suspect the government's 1995 budget is based on overly optimistic assumptions about inflation and spending and fear the deficit will be much bigger than planned, the report said.
7 Russia's war in separatist Chechnya and a budget-busting minimum wage increase approved by the lower house of parliament also are fueling doubts about the government's anti-inflation program, it said.
8 The government says it plans to bring inflation down to an average of 3 percent a month. Last year, the average rate was 10 percent a month.
9 But inflation soared in January to 17.8 percent, its highest level in 12 months, ITAR-Tass said.
10 The government had forecast a jump in inflation in January, because of seasonal factors and economic instability aggravated by the war in Chechnya, and was sticking to its 3 percent inflation target for 1995.

Russian officials had hoped to wrap up the IMF agreement this week , but sources close to the talks have suggested the IMF may not release the money until the spring .
may not release
Why won't the IMF release the money until spring?