PRAGUE, Safar 1, 1437, Nov 13, 2015, SPA -- Eastern Europe's economies are likely to return to mild growth next year, but downside risks have grown because of China's slowdown and Europe's refugee crisis, Reuters cited the International Monetary Fund as saying on Friday. The fund said in its semi-annual report Russia would remain in recession next year, albeit a milder one than this year, while Ukraine will return to growth after a slump this year. For all 22 countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE), the IMF left its forecast at 1.3 percent for the next year. That is a rebound from this year's 0.6 percent drop, which has been driven mainly by Russia and Ukraine. "The balance of risks to CESEE growth has shifted from broadly neutral at the time of the (spring report) to being tilted to the downside," the IMF said. "New risks to trade and capital flows stemming from a possible further slowdown in major emerging markets (notably, in China) as well as the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe are the main additions to long-standing risks," the report said. --SPA 17:02 LOCAL TIME 14:02 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w