International Monetary Fund officials next week will continue negotiations on a multibillion-dollar, three-year loan to Russia, as the president of their sister institution, the World Bank, makes his first official visit to Moscow to see the bank's activities firsthand.


A Finance Ministry official Friday said talks with the IMF are ongoing and that figures as high as $18 billion for the three-year loan were being discussed, higher than previous reports of as much as $15 billion. The official did not offer further details.


Finance Minister Vladimir Panskov on Thursday was optimistic about the progress of the talks with the IMF and said the discussions were "close to completion."


But he said success would depend on approval of next year's budget by the State Duma, which rejected the government's initial draft spending plan.


Panskov said there is room for compromise with the parliament, offering one scenario of a 2 percent inflation rate for the budget but a 1 percent target for the government's "monetary programs."


"While they [the IMF mission] are anything but enthusiastic, I think the negotiating process could convince them that nothing terrible would happen," Panskov said.


One top economist said Friday that budget squabbles may not stand in the way of reaching a consensus.


"It's clear that there will be a budget in place that is consistent with macroeconomic stability," said the economist, who asked not to be named.


"How far along [the approval process] needs to be is not yet clear."


The negotiations will continue as World Bank President James Wolfensohn arrives in Moscow on Tuesday to speak with Russian officials.


Wolfensohn's visit marks the third time a World Bank chief has come to Russia since reforms began, most recently by the late Lewis Preston last November.


Wolfensohn's itinerary includes visits to Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir, and perhaps a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais.


The visit may conclude with talks Friday between Wolfensohn and President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, government officials said.


The World Bank is currently involved in projects ranging from mass privatization to supporting the country's nascent Securities and Exchange Commission with legal reform and the creation of a national stock registry.


Land privatization has also received a great deal of World Bank attention, with 230,000 hectares of property privatized under the program.