The president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has requested the Russian Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, to convey a clear message to President Vladimir Putin about the economic impact of the war in Ukraine: the conflict hinders prosperity and peace is an essential condition to revive growth.
The exchange took place in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, during a private meeting held before the plenary session of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the advisory body of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world, according to the agency Bloomberg citing, on condition of anonymity, a source present at the meeting.
In that conversation, Lagarde asked Siluanov to convey to Putin that "the war hinders prosperity" and that "economic growth can only be achieved with peace," according to the same source. The Russian official was wearing headphones to follow the simultaneous translation, so he was able to fully hear the words of the ECB president.
So far, the European central bank has not issued comments on that meeting or on the statements attributed to Lagarde, which would mark a shift from the stance shown in previous IMFC meetings since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In previous meetings, the top official of the ECB had aligned with other European representatives who left the room during the interventions of the Russian minister, as a sign of rejection of Moscow's participation in the forum.
Apart from the geopolitical context, Lagarde has reiterated the importance of maintaining solid public finances. In this regard, she has emphasized that fiscal sustainability remains a "crucial benchmark" to safeguard economic stability.