Russia to seek membership in IMF.

Russia to Seek Membership in IMF

TOKYO - The Russian Republic plans to apply for membership - independent of the Soviet Union - in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, a Russian official said.

Ruslan Khasbulatove, the acting Russian parliament speaker, who is on a visit to Japan, called on that country to support Russia's bid to join the two organizations, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Soviet Bid

The Soviet Union applied for full IMF membership in July, a month before the coup attempt. This application is expected to be a main topic at the next general meeting, which will take place next month in Bangkok.

Bahram Nowzad, deputy director of the fund's external relations department, said in London on Monday that the Soviet Union's application was still under consideration. He declined to say what the fund's reaction would be to applications from individual Soviet republics.

British banking sources, however, have said they believe individual applications would be regarded with sympathy.

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