Nine European nations’ finance ministers, including those of Lithuania, Finland, and Poland, expressed their “strong dissatisfaction” with the IMF’s choice to restart talks with Russia. The IMF intends to resume online negotiations on September 16 after stopping them after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This will be followed by a mission visiting Moscow in person.
Nine European nations expressed their disapproval on Friday of the International Monetary Fund’s intentions to reinstate missions to Russia, arguing that the Fund’s good name would be harmed by continuing talks with an invading government.
The Washington-based lender of last resort, the IMF, ceased its yearly discussions with Russia following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
However, on September 2, Aleksei Mozhin, the IMF’s executive director for Russia, told Reuters that the Fund would resume online discussions on September 16 and that it would send a delegation to Moscow on September 2 to continue meetings with Russian authorities until October 1.
The finance ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Lithuania wrote to IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, “We would like to express our strong dissatisfaction with such IMF plans,” as seen by Reuters.
According to EU officials, Georgieva will be questioned about the IMF’s plans by central bankers and finance ministers attending a meeting in Budapest.
“After the consultation, what suggestions does the IMF wish to make to Russia? What better way to manage a war economy?” stated a top euro zone official.
The letter stated that as Russia is an aggressor, it should not profit from IMF guidance. It also pointed out that if the IMF carried out its intentions, donor nations would be less inclined to support Ukraine through IMF efforts since it would erode their confidence in the organization.
“The United States is dedicated to assisting you in defending Ukraine against Russia’s assault.”
“Donors can choose other institutions like the World Bank or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,” added the high-ranking official.
Additionally, the letter said that any information Russia sent the IMF would be withheld to demonstrate that the nation’s economy was supposedly thriving and defying Western sanctions, which would skew the IMF’s evaluation.
According to Moscow, the expedition would harm the IMF’s reputation and be used for its own propaganda.
“We thus call on the IMF not to resume cooperation with Russia and to remain committed to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” said the nine nations.
“We urge all international financial institutions, including the IMF and its management, to continue refraining from the activities involving the aggressor state and not to resume dialogue as long as Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine,” the letter stated.
The IMF declared on Thursday that both its usual obligations and Russia’s obligations as a member nation were met by its scheduled visit to Russia.
Prior to the COVID epidemic, in November 2019, the IMF made its final yearly visit to Russia. Since the beginning of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, there have been no IMF missions to Russia.
In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, many Western countries suggested that Russia should be kicked out of the IMF; however, this proved challenging due to resistance from other members with significant voting quotas, like China and India.
