Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the IMF supports the efforts of the Ukrainian government in the fight against corruption.

"Christine Lagarde assured that the IMF supports the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities in the fight against corruption, building upon the achievements made in setting up new institutions so far? The presidential press service reported following the conversation early on Friday.

Earlier in the statement, Lagarde talked about the fact that the IMF expressed concern about the events in Ukraine around the independence of anti-corruption bodies: "We are deeply concerned by recent events in Ukraine that could roll back progress that has been made in setting up independent institutions to tackle high-level corruption, including the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine [NABU] and the Special Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office [SAPO]."

"We urge the Ukrainian authorities and parliament to safeguard the independence of NABU and SAPO. We also urge the authorities to move quickly with legislation to operationalize an independent anticorruption court consistent with the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which is essential to credibly adjudicate high-level corruption cases," she said.