IMF mission to visit RF for the first time since the beginning of the war
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that a mission from the Fund will visit Russia to discuss the country's “economic development and policies.”
This was reported by Reuters.
The IMF will be the first major international financial institution to send an official mission to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The IMF mission will start working online on September 16 and will continue with a delegation visit to Moscow to meet with Russian officials to discuss the country's economic development and policies.
It is noted that the Fund has not provided loans to Russia since 1998, and technical assistance since 2022. The last annual IMF mission visited Russia in November 2019, before the start of the COVID pandemic.
Many Western countries raised the possibility of expelling Russia from the IMF after the invasion of Ukraine, but this proved difficult due to the reluctance of other members with large voting quotas, such as China and India.
Since the beginning of the war, Western member states have criticized the IMF for what they see as overly optimistic forecasts for the sanctions-hit Russian economy and have warned that any decisions to seize frozen Russian assets must be backed by sufficient legal support.
Author - Olena Madiak, 05/09/2024
