UK and Canada protest Russia’s ‘perverse’ participation in IMF meeting

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak speaks at a statement on the economic update session, at the House of Commons in London, Britain March 23, 2022. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Rishi Sunak and his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland walked out of an International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington on Thursday when Russia’s delegate spoke, a British finance ministry spokesperson said.

“(Sunak) described Putin’s assault on Ukraine as an assault on the rules and norms that are the foundation of our economic way of life,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier on Thursday, Britain ramped up trade sanctions on Russia, targeting luxury goods including caviar, silver and diamonds through import bans and higher tariffs, seeking to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.