Exclusive: Nine European countries protest against IMF resuming missions to Russia, 13 September 2024

Nine European countries protested...against the International Monetary Fund's plans to resume missions to Russia, saying it would damage the reputation of the Fund to resume dialogue with a country that has invaded another...

...[T]he IMF's Russian executive director Aleksei Mozhin told Reuters the Fund would re-start online consultations on Sept. 16, and continue with an IMF delegation visit to Moscow for meetings with Russian officials until Oct. 1.

"We would like to express our strong dissatisfaction with such IMF plans," the finance ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Poland said in a letter to IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, seen by Reuters...

The letter said that as an aggressor country, Russia should not get the benefit of IMF advice and noted that if the IMF went through with its plans, it would diminish the willingness of donor countries to support Ukraine through IMF initiatives, because it would undermine trust in the IMF...

The letter also said 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.

"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...