The Minister of Finance of Finland Riikka Purra has, together with the Ministers of Finance of the Baltic countries, the Nordic countries and Poland, sent a letter to Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expressing their dissatisfaction with the IMF’s decision to resume the Article IV consultations with Russia that were discontinued in 2022.
As Finland’s representative on the IMF’s Board of Governors I give my full support to the letter sent by the Ministers. In Article IV consultations, the IMF advises member countries on how to strengthen their economies, for example. The IMF’s decision on consultations with a country that is fighting an illegal war of aggression sends a totally wrong signal to the international community, and I cannot support the IMF’s decision.