MINSK, Belarus -- Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has pledged to reverse his order that cut down staple food prices, an official said Monday.


A senior Economy Ministry official said Lukashenko agreed to continue reforms that include price liberalization in a statement released over the weekend with the IMF.


Authorities adopted a program of liberalizing prices earlier this fall, a condition required by the IMF for giving Belarus a total of $700 million in loans.


But on Nov. 11, Lukashenko made a turnaround, announcing that the cost of living had climbed too far and ordering a cutback in prices of bread, milk and several other staples.


"That the president had to make a decision ... to regulate prices on some food products in no way means a rejection of the principle of free price creation as a basis for the market," the statement said. "We are relying on the world economic community ... to reach our goals of escaping economic crisis and creating a civilized market."


Lukashenko said he had ordered the government to stop interfering in price setting, excluding prices on goods and services provided by monopolies. He also pledged to speed up privatization, lower taxes on manufacturing, encourage exports and liberalize foreign trade.


Belarus has been slow to introduce free market reforms, and has been plagued by soaring inflation and falling industrial output. (AP, Reuters)