IMF postpones Russia visit amid fierce international opposition

Russian state media reported on Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Russia. This was to be the first visit of an IMF delegation to Moscow since the attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Nine countries, including Poland, protested against the mission.

According to the Politico portal, the International Monetary Fund notified Russia that the IMF mission's visit to Moscow will be postponed indefinitely due to its lack of technical readiness to conduct consultations.

Opponents of the mission warned that the Kremlin would use the visit for propaganda purposes and threaten the IMF’s reputation. They also emphasized that Russia, as an aggressor, should not have access to Fund support.

They argued that the presence of the mission in Russia would indicate a normalization of relations with Russia despite its invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory.

In early September, the Politico portal learned that the IMF suggested organizing the meeting in a third country; however, it ultimately accepted the Kremlin’s condition that the mission go to Russia.

The IMF defended this decision, arguing that sending the mission to Moscow is part of the Fund’s obligations, of which Russia is a member.

In a letter to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, nine countries, including Poland, protested against the mission.

According to the Reuters agency, the finance chiefs of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, and Norway expressed strong dissatisfaction with the IMF’s plans.

What recommendations does the IMF want to give Russia at the end of the consultation? How to better run a war economy? - mocked a high-ranking EU official who requested anonymity.

If the mission’s visit to Russia had taken place, the IMF would have become the first major international financial body to pay an official visit to Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine.