Delegates walked out as Russian minister spoke at IMF committee, reports say

Many delegates to a key International Monetary Fund committee walked out of a meeting on Saturday when Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov addressed the group in Russian, according to Reuters and the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Both outlets cited three unnamed sources familiar with the matter. None of the reports reviewed by Vocemundi includes on-the-record confirmation of the account.

The meeting was of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the IMF's steering committee. According to the SCMP, it took place during this week's annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Bangkok.

What is reported

• Nearly a dozen delegates left the room when the Russian official began speaking, according to an unnamed official described by the SCMP as being in the room.
• Delegates from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were among those who left, according to the same official, the SCMP reported.
• "Many delegations walked out, including members of the European Union," the SCMP quoted an unnamed source familiar with the matter as saying.

The SCMP also reported that the committee has been unable to reach consensus statements since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It said there were deep divisions again at this week's meetings, and that new tensions flared between the United States and Ukraine. The reports do not detail those tensions or say whether they are connected to the walkout.

How the reports relate

The SCMP's opening paragraph matches, word for word, a Reuters summary published earlier, including the reference to three sources. This points to shared reporting rather than two independent confirmations. The SCMP text reviewed does not credit an agency. The Reuters item reviewed by Vocemundi is a short summary, so it is not clear whether the country list carried by the SCMP also appears in the full Reuters report.

What is not known

• The reports do not include on-the-record confirmation from the IMF, the committee or any government whose delegates reportedly left.
• They do not include any response from Siluanov, the Russian Finance Ministry or the Russian government.
• They do not describe what Siluanov said in his address.
• They do not include any stated reason from the delegations that reportedly left.
• They do not give an exact number of delegates or a complete list of countries. The seven named countries are described only as among those who left.
• They do not say whether delegations from the United States or other major members stayed or left.

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include public positions from any of the parties involved.

Analysis

If confirmed, the reported walkout would add to the visible divisions that have kept the committee from agreeing on consensus statements since February 2022. It may suggest that some members are willing to register objections through protest at multilateral financial forums. Without on-the-record statements, however, the motives of those who reportedly left remain unclear, including whether the walkout related to the language, the content of the address or other factors. Possible developments include official confirmation or denial from governments or the IMF, a response from Moscow, or no further comment. The reports reviewed do not indicate whether the episode will affect the committee's work.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.