European officials have spoken out against Russia's participation in the IMF meeting — Reuters
During the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok, representatives from nearly a dozen countries walked out of the hall when Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began his speech. Earlier, European officials had insisted on a change in the seating arrangement at an official reception because they did not want to sit at the same table as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk. These incidents have once again intensified the controversy surrounding Russia’s participation in international events following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The diplomatic protest took place on Saturday, October 17, during a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the IMF’s main advisory body. When Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov took the floor, representatives from several European countries walked out of the room. According to one of the agency’s sources, nearly 12 delegates left the meeting. Among them were representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
The first to leave the room was Andriy Pyshnyy, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine. He told Interfax-Ukraine that the heads of other central banks and ministers later followed his example. One European diplomat explained to Reuters the reason for this move. According to him, Russia’s war against Ukraine poses an existential threat to Europe. Therefore, European countries cannot allow relations with Moscow to return to normal, as if there were no full-scale war.
Europeans refused to sit at the same table with Overchuk
Another incident occurred on Thursday, October 15, during an official reception at the Thai Government House. The organizers had planned to seat several heads of European central banks and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk at the same table. He heads the Russian delegation at the meeting and is subject to Western sanctions. According to Andriy Pyshnyy, European officials demanded that the approved seating arrangement be changed. Otherwise, they threatened not to participate in the event. The NBU governor told Interfax-Ukraine about this.
He said that representatives of the central banks of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Croatia voiced their objections. According to the original plan, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson were to sit at the same table.
In total, the organizers had prepared a reception for more than 400 participants. Following objections from European representatives, the seating arrangement was changed. Overchuk ultimately did not attend the event, Pyshnyy reported. In addition, the organizers canceled the traditional group photo of participants at the annual IMF and World Bank meetings, known as the “Family Photo.”
Russian delegation returns to IMF meetings for the first time since the start of the invasion
A high-level Russian delegation arrived at the annual IMF and World Bank meetings for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For Siluanov, this is already his second high-level foreign trip since the war began. The first took place on August 31–September 1. At that time, the Russian finance minister participated in the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting in Asheville, where he was invited by the U.S. side.
Siluanov’s return to international events sparked discontent among European delegations. During the G20 meeting, representatives of European countries refused to be photographed alongside the Russian minister. As a result, a group photo was taken without him, Reuters reported.
Germany Criticizes Attempts to Bring Russia Back onto the International Stage
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stated that he sees attempts, primarily from the U.S., to bring Russia back into international political life. “We cannot pretend that Russia is returning to the G20 as a full member and is simply taking its place at the table again,” he said.
At the same time, Washington supports Russia’s participation in international meetings. U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Erin Brown confirmed the U.S. position to Reuters.
According to her, it is impossible to resolve the conflict without open dialogue. Thus, the approaches of the U.S. and European countries toward Russia’s participation in international events differ.
European officials protested Russia’s participation as early as 2022
Such protests began shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On April 20, 2022, participants at the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Washington walked out of the session when Siluanov began speaking via video link.
Among those who walked out in protest were then-U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and representatives of other Western nations.
Since then, the participation of Russian officials in international events has repeatedly been met with protests and controversy. The events in Bangkok showed that the issue of Russia’s presence at the same table with Western representatives remains a subject of diplomatic disagreement. This was reported by Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the events.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The parties discussed preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.
