The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, participated in a walkout of finance leaders during an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Bangkok. This protest was in response to the involvement of Russia, specifically when Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov addressed the group in Russian.
Details of the Walkout
Bailey was joined by finance leaders from France, Germany, and several Scandinavian and Baltic countries. The Bank of England confirmed Bailey's participation in the walkout. According to the president of the German Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, nearly half of all delegates left the session when Siluanov began to speak.
““The Ukraine war is existential for us in Europe,” a European diplomat told Reuters. “We cannot normalise relations with Russia.”
The chair of the IMF’s steering committee, Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, acknowledged the walkout, stating, “We came here for a reason, and we achieved it. Look at this chair statement, it clearly says that all members agreed to the statement, so that’s what matters.”
