Russia is not going to give up membership in the World Trade Organization and participation in the activities of the International Monetary Fund, said Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin. According to TASS, according to him, such a step could lead to artificial self-isolation of the national economy.
“To date, the position of relevant departments, including the Russian Foreign Ministry, has not changed – we still consider the WTO an important and uncontested platform for defending Russian trade and economic interests,” Pankin said, adding that leaving the organization could negatively affect the level and the quality of foreign economic relations.
As for the IMF, the organization is “a significant element of the post-war economic world order”, therefore participation in its activities has an important “image value”, and also provides access to “advanced international financial expertise”, the diplomat noted. Also, according to him, Moscow is interested in continuing to participate in the IMF because of “involvement in the process of coordinating global economic initiatives and projects.”
After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the State Duma repeatedly proposed withdrawing from the WTO. In March 2022, a group of deputies from A Just Russia – For Truth submitted a relevant bill to parliament. In January of this year, Dmitry Novikov (KPRF), First Deputy Head of the Duma Committee on International Affairs, made a similar proposal.
In March last year, the Ministry of Economic Development said that states that did not impose sanctions against Russia would negatively perceive the country’s withdrawal from the WTO. The department believes that, from the point of view of the organization, the restrictions imposed on Moscow are illegal.
Russia has been a WTO member since 2012. In May 2022, President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to analyze the sanctions against Russia imposed by the WTO member states and submit proposals for updating the strategy for the country’s participation in the organization.
Source: Rosbalt
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