Lagarde Sends Message to Putin at IMF That War Harms Prosperity

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde confronted Russia’s finance minister in Bangkok over the war in Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

At a closed-door gathering before the plenary of the International Monetary Fund’s top advisory body on Saturday, she asked Anton Siluanov to tell President Vladimir Putin that war impedes prosperity and that economic growth can only be achieved with peace, the person said. They declined to be identified because the meeting was private.

Siluanov had headphones on to hear a simultaneous translation so he understood what Lagarde said, the person added.

An ECB spokesperson declined to comment on the encounter.

The president’s comments mark a change in approach. Since the conflict began in 2022, she previously joined European officials walking out of prior plenaries of the International Monetary and Financial Committee — as the body that comprises global finance ministers and central bankers is called — in protest at the Russian finance minister.

She also referred to “Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine” during her speech to the IMFC plenary on Saturday. In that statement, Lagarde stressed the importance of sound public finances, arguing that fiscal sustainability remains a “crucial anchor” for economic stability.

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Russia and Ukraine continued to trade attacks overnight. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the US is sharing intelligence again after it was blocked for “some period of time.”