The Serbian is seeking a standby financial deal with the International Monetary Fund to help the country absorb the impact of crises stemming from the war in Ukraine, the pro-government Politika daily reported on Tuesday, citing IMF mission head Yulia Ustyugova.

Serbia currently maintains a non-financial and advisory agreement with the lender which would have to be cancelled if the IMF and Belgrade agreed over a loan deal.

"Once the agreement is reached about policies and the financial package ... the current non-financial policy coordination instrument would be cancelled," the Politika quoted Ustyugova as saying.

In 2018 Serbia completed its last 1.32 billion three-year precautionary deal with the IMF without drawing funds.

On Sunday, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said the Balkan country was planning to seek a stand-by deal with the IMF, and that it was aiming to keep its overall public debt at 60% of economic output.

Serbia's public debt currently stands at around 52.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)