By Libby George and Karin Strohecker
LONDON (Reuters) -Ukraine told investors it still expects to succeed in its unprecedented aim of restructuring debt in the middle of a war before payment moratoriums expire by Aug. 1, according to two sources who joined a call with the Finance Ministry on Monday.
The war-torn country also intends to include GDP warrants as part of its effort to restructure some $20 billion of international bonds, said the sources.
Monday's call marks part of Ukraine's fresh push to engage with investors after formal restructuring talks last month ended without an agreement.
Statements released last week showed there was a wide gap between the 20% haircut bondholders are prepared to give and a proposal from Ukraine that would have translated into a haircut of up to 60%.
"They believe that an agreement can be reached soon," one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Yuriy Butsa, head of Ukraine's debt management office, who is leading the country's engagement with creditors, spoke on the call and was joined by representatives from the government's advisers and the IMF mission chief to Ukraine, Gavin Gray, the sources said.
On the creditor side, members of the Ad Hoc Creditor Committee joined, along with investors who were not part of the group.
Ukraine has $19.7 billion outstanding on its international bonds and owes $2.6 billion on GDP warrants - a fixed-income instrument with payouts that are linked to the strength of economic output growth. The warrants were created as a sweetener to creditors during Ukraine's 2015 debt restructuring in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea.