European governments criticize IMF trip to Russia as ‘propaganda win’ for Putin

BRUSSELS ― The International Monetary Fund’s upcoming trip to Russia will be used as propaganda by the Kremlin, a group of pro-Ukraine European governments wrote in a letter to the head of the institution.

Ukraine’s backers argue that by visiting Russia, the IMF is sending the message that relations with Moscow are normalizing despite its continued unprovoked aggression in Ukraine.

The visit “will undoubtedly be used for propaganda purposes by the Russian regime,” the finance ministers of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Poland told Kristalina Georgieva in the letter seen by POLITICO.

“Such a move would create substantial reputational risks for the IMF,” they warned in the letter.

Officials from the Washington-based organization are set to visit Russia for the first time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022. Virtual discussions will start on Sept. 16 and in-person meetings are expected to take place shortly after.

While the IMF suggested holding the meeting in another country, it eventually accepted the Kremlin’s condition to travel to Russia, said two officials with knowledge of proceedings. Virtual discussions will start on Sept. 16 and in-person meetings are expected to take place shortly after that.

The controversial trip might discourage pro-Ukraine governments from channeling their aid to Kyiv through the IMF, the nine governments wrote in the letter.

Lithuania and others are expected to question Georgieva during a session of today’s informal gathering of eurozone finance ministers in Budapest, Hungary.

The IMF defended the visit to Russia, one of the organization’s 190 members, as a treaty obligation.

“The Fund and its member countries have a mutual obligation to conduct consultations under Article IV of the IMF Articles of Agreement (under which the IMF holds annual discussions with officials of every member country),” the IMF wrote in a statement.