European officials staged a demarche against Russia's Finance Minister at the IMF meeting in Bangkok

At the annual IMF meeting in Bangkok, representatives from almost ten countries left the hall during the speech of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Earlier, European officials forced organizers to change the seating arrangement at an official reception, refusing to sit at the same table with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, writes "Agenstvo" (Agency).

The demarche against Siluanov took place on Saturday at a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) – the IMF's main advisory body. When the Russian minister began speaking, representatives from several European countries walked out of the hall, Reuters reported, citing three sources.

According to one of the agency's sources, almost a dozen delegates left the meeting. Among them were representatives from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

The head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshny, was the first to leave the hall, according to his own words. He told "Interfax-Ukraine" that other central bank governors and ministers followed his example.

One European diplomat explained to Reuters that the war in Ukraine poses an existential threat to Europe, which is why European states cannot allow a normalization of relations with Russia.

Another diplomatic scandal occurred on Thursday at an official reception at the Government House of Thailand.

Organizers planned to seat several European central bank governors and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, who heads the Russian delegation and is under Western sanctions, at the same table.

European officials demanded a change in the approved seating plan or declared their intention to refuse participation in the event, Pyshny said.

According to the head of the Ukrainian Central Bank, objections were raised by representatives of the central banks of France, Germany, Great Britain, and Croatia. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson were also initially planned to be seated at the same table.

The reception was designed for more than 400 participants in total. After the Europeans' objections, the organizers changed the seating, and Overchuk did not attend the event, Pyshny said.

In addition, the organizers canceled the traditional joint photo of participants of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings.

A high-level Russian delegation arrived at the annual IMF and World Bank meetings for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

For Siluanov, this is the second such foreign trip since the start of the war.

The first took place on August 31 - September 1, when the Russian Finance Minister attended a G20 meeting in Asheville at the invitation of the American side.

At that time, Siluanov's return caused outrage among European delegations. Representatives of European countries refused to be photographed with him, and as a result, a group photo was taken without the Russian minister.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stated that he sees attempts, primarily by the US, to bring Russia back to the international arena.

According to him, "one cannot pretend that Russia is returning to the G20 as a full member and simply taking its place at the table again."

US Deputy Treasury Secretary for International Affairs Erin Browne confirmed that Washington supports Russia's participation in international meetings. According to her, without open dialogue, conflict resolution is impossible.

Similar demarches began shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On April 20, 2022, participants of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Washington left the session when Siluanov began speaking via video link.

Among those who protested were US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde, and representatives of other Western states.

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