Nine European countries protested on Friday against the International Monetary Fund’s plans to resume missions to Russia.
Dialogue Resumption With Russia Would Damage IMF’s Reputation
They say that resuming dialogue with a country that has invaded another, would damage the reputation of the Fund.
Finance Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Poland have articulated their position in a letter to IMF head Kristalina Georgieva.
“We would like to express our strong dissatisfaction with such IMF plans,” they said.
IMF Stopped Annual Consultation With Russia In 2022
After Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the IMF stopped its annual consultations with Russia.
But on September 2, the IMF’s Russian executive director Aleksei Mozhin told Reuters that the Fund would re-start online consultations on September 16.
Change In IMF’s Plans
Aleksei further indicated plans to continue with an IMF delegation visit to Moscow for meetings with Russian officials until October 1.
IMF Head Attending A Meeting In Budapest
The IMF head is attending a meeting of EU finance ministers and central bankers in Budapest.
EU officials said that the finance ministers and central bankers will ask her about the IMF’s plans, at the meeting.
“What recommendations does the IMF want to give Russia at the end of the consultation?”, one senior euro zone official said.
The letter said that as an aggressor country, Russia should not get the benefit of IMF advice.
It noted that if the IMF went through with its plans, it would diminish the willingness of donor countries to support Ukraine through IMF initiatives.
“Donors can choose other institutions like the World Bank or the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,” the senior official said.
The letter also said that any data Russia would provide the IMF would be censored to show the country’s economy was allegedly doing well and resisting Western sanctions, making the IMF’s assessment inaccurate.
Moscow would also use mission for its own propaganda purposes and it would damage the IMF’s reputation, it said.
IMF Should Not Resume Cooperation With Russia
“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,” the nine countries said.
“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 said.
IMF Explains Purpose Of Its Planned Visit To Russia
The IMF said that its planned visit to Russia was in line with its regular obligations as well as those of Russia as a member country.
The International Monetary Funds’s last annual mission visited Russia in November 2019, before the start of the COVID pandemic.
There have been no IMF missions to Russia since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Expulsion From The IMF?
Many Western nations raised the possibility of Russia’s expulsion from the IMF in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion.
The expulsion however proved difficult because of reluctance from other members with large voting quotas such as China and India.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
