WASHINGTON: G7 officials and others walked out of a meeting of the Development Committee that advises the governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on Friday in Washington when a Russian official began to speak, a source told Reuters.

It was the latest walkout by senior officials from Group of Seven advanced economies to protest Russia’s war in Ukraine, and followed similar demonstrations at meetings of the Group of 20 major economies and the IMF’s steering committee earlier this week.

Russia’s refusal to agree to strong language condemning its war in Ukraine prevented the International Monetary and Financial Committee from issuing a formal communique on Thursday, and the same is likely to happen at Friday’s meeting of the Development Committee, the source said.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2022