Bank of England governor walks out of IMF summit in protest against Russia

The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has taken part in a walkout of finance leaders who left an International Monetary Fund meeting in protest against Russian involvement.

Bailey joined counterparts from France, Germany and a number of Scandinavian and Baltic countries who left the session in Bangkok when the Russian finance minister, Anton Siluanov, addressed the group in Russian.

The Bank of England confirmed that Bailey took part.

The president of the German Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, said nearly half of all delegates took part in the joint departure when Siluanov started speaking.

“The Ukraine war is existential for us in Europe,” one European diplomat told the Reuters news agency.

“We cannot normalise relations with Russia.”

The walkout was acknowledged by the chair of the IMF’s steering committee, the Saudi finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan.

Al-Jadaan said: “We came here for a reason, and we achieved it. Look at this chair statement, it clearly says that all members agreed to the statement, so that’s what matters.”

Germany had warned against efforts to bring Russia back on to the international stage. Siluanov attended a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers this year.

The US has been supportive, with the treasury undersecretary Erin Browne telling Reuters that Washington supported Russia’s presence despite concerns from European countries.

The meeting in the Thai capital heard that the global economy was showing remarkable resilience despite the war between Russia and Ukraine, and in spite of the issues around the strait of Hormuz caused by the US’s bombing campaign.

However, al-Jadaan added that there was no room for complacency, amid public debt levels and high bond market rates.

A statement from al-Jadaan after the IMF meeting said: “The global economy has weathered the latest in a series of shocks better than expected, but buffers have been eroded, and resilience cannot be taken for granted.”

He added: “Escalating conflicts and trade tensions could further disrupt critical trade routes, exacerbate commodity price pressures, including in refined energy products, and worsen energy and food security.”