Bank of England governor Bailey and other finance chiefs walk out of IMF meeting over Russia
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and finance leaders from several countries left an International Monetary Fund session in Bangkok when Russia's finance minister began speaking in Russian. The walkout was a protest against Russian involvement in the fund's meetings.
Finance and central bank leaders from several countries walked out of a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok in protest when Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began addressing the session in Russian. Among them was Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, the United Kingdom's central bank, which confirmed his participation.
Bailey was joined by counterparts from France, Germany and a number of Scandinavian and Baltic countries. Joachim Nagel, president of Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, said nearly half of all delegates took part in the joint departure.
The Reuters news agency quoted a European diplomat as saying the war in Ukraine is existential for Europe and that relations with Russia cannot be normalised. Germany had earlier warned against efforts to return Russia to the international stage. Siluanov also attended a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers earlier this year.
The United States took a different position. Erin Browne, a US treasury undersecretary, told Reuters that Washington supported Russia's presence despite concerns among European countries.
Assessment of the global economy
The meeting heard that the global economy had shown remarkable resilience despite the war between Russia and Ukraine and the problems around the strait of Hormuz caused by the US bombing campaign. Mohammed al-Jadaan, Saudi finance minister and chair of the IMF's steering committee, said there was no room for complacency given public debt levels and high bond market rates.
Al-Jadaan acknowledged the walkout and said the key point was that all members had agreed to the chair's statement. He warned that escalating conflicts and trade tensions could further disrupt critical trade routes, increase commodity price pressures, including for refined energy products, and worsen energy and food security.
