European delegates walk out on Russian finance minister at IMF summit

Nearly a dozen delegates left the room when Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began speaking at the steering committee meeting.

Many delegates to the International Monetary Fund’s steering committee walked out of a meeting on Saturday when Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov addressed the group in Russian, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has roiled the International Monetary and Financial Committee, preventing it from reaching consensus statements in the years since. There were deep divisions again at this week’s annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok, as new tensions flared between the US and Ukraine.

“Many delegations walked out, including members of the European Union,” one of the sources said.

A second official in the room said nearly a dozen delegates left the room when the Russian official began speaking. Delegates from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were among those who left, the official said.