IMF reportedly postpones controversial visit to Russia
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The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) planned visit to Russia has been "postponed indefinitely," Russian state-controlled news agency TASS reported on Sept. 17.
News emerged earlier in September that the IMF was preparing to send its first mission to Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The IMF last visited Russia in November 2019, before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The mission was supposed to be headed by Argentine economist Jacques Miniane, with the first part taking place in an online format starting on Sept. 16, followed by a visit to Moscow.
Several European countries, including Sweden, Finland, Poland, and the Baltic states, criticized the IMF's decision to travel to Moscow.
Citing two sources, Politico reported that the IMF originally suggested holding the meeting in a third country, but "eventually accepted the Kremlin's condition to travel to Russia."
The IMF's Russian executive director, Alexei Mozhin, told TASS on Sept. 17 that the visit had been postponed due to "technical unpreparedness" on the visiting side, but Russia is still ready to accept the visit.
Mozhin will be stepping down from his position in November. He confirmed to AFP on Sept. 3 that he will be replaced by Ksenia Yudaeva, former first deputy governor at Russia's Central Bank and a current adviser to its current governor, Elvira Nabiullina.
Yudaeva was sanctioned by the U.S. in April 2022 for her links to the Central Bank and the Otkritie commercial bank, which was sanctioned by the U.S. on the day the full-scale invasion began.
On paper, sanctioned individuals are banned from entering the U.S., where the IMF's headquarters are located.
