The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has “postponed indefinitely” its planned visit to Russia, as reported by Russian state-controlled news agency TASS on September 17.
The mission, set to be led by Argentine economist Jacques Miniane, was initially scheduled to begin online on September 16, with an in-person visit to Moscow to follow.
However, several European nations, including Sweden, Finland, Poland, and the Baltic states, voiced criticism of the IMF’s decision to visit Moscow.
Politico, citing two sources, reported that the IMF had originally proposed holding the meeting in a third country, but “eventually accepted the Kremlin’s condition to travel to Russia.”
Alexei Mozhin, Russia’s executive director at the IMF, said that the visit was delayed due to “technical unpreparedness” on the IMF’s side, but Russia remains open to the visit. Mozhin, who is set to step down in November, will be succeeded by Ksenia Yudaeva, a former first deputy governor at Russia’s Central Bank and current adviser to its governor, Elvira Nabiullina.
Yudaeva, who was sanctioned by the US in April 2022 due to her ties with the Central Bank and Otkritie Bank, faces restrictions that prevent her from entering the US, where the IMF’s headquarters are located.
Earlier in September, news surfaced that the IMF was preparing for its first mission to Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. The IMF’s last visit to the country took place in November 2019.
