Ukraine signed request to have Russia, Belarus out of IMF, WB

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On Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the signing of a request to the G7 countries to stop Russian and Belarusian memberships in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Just signed an official appeal to 🇺🇸, 🇨🇦, 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪, 🇫🇷, 🇮🇹, and 🇯🇵 to stop Russia's and Belarus' membership in #IMF and #WorldBank organizations. These countries violated their commitments and turned their policies to war. Let's stop them together!

— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) March 6, 2022

"Just signed an official appeal to [the US], [Canada], [the UK], [Germany],[France],[Italy], and [Japan] to stop Russia's and Belarus' membership in #IMF and #WorldBank organizations. These countries violated their commitments and turned their policies to war. Let's stop them together!" Shmyhal tweeted.

With recent threats to isolate Russia from the SWIFT international system, Moscow retorted that there are alternatives to such a move, as a part of the large wave of sanctions.

Russian banks can use the financial messaging system of the Bank of Russia (FMS) to transfer information within the federation, and they are able to use other channels for international transferring in isolation from the SWIFT system, the Bank of Russia said Wednesday as sanctions mount against Moscow.

The European Union had announced that it made the decision to disconnect a wide array of Russian banks from SWIFT, seven, to be exact.

The banks, VTB BANK, Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, and Vnesheconomban would not be able to transmit financial information to counterparties on domestic transactions and international transactions.

However, the Central Bank of Russia said it was allowing the aforementioned banks to use its messaging system, which allows for an exchange of information, including in SWIFT format.

As of now, up to 340 users are connected to the FMS, including 39 foreign participants from nine countries, the central bank underlined.

Anti-Russia sanctions to impact world: IMF Chief

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said last month that sanctions imposed by the West on Russia may have an impact on the global economy due to increasing inflation caused by rising oil and grain prices.

Read more: US limits exports on Russia's oil refining sector

"What is happening, of course, has implications for the economy of Ukraine, but the impact is going to go beyond Ukraine," Georgieva said.

She added that "because we have already seen actions taken in terms of sanctions that would add to the economic impact of this crisis and will be transmitted primarily through energy prices as well as grains prices adding to growing concern of inflation and how it can be countered."

Worries about global supply disruptions and US-European sanctions against Russia pushed global oil prices to about $120 per barrel for the first time since 2014, while wheat, soybeans, and maize prices jumped to multi-year highs as well.

Inflation had already been sharply increasing in the US before last week's rise in oil and grain prices, with consumer prices rising at their fastest rate in 40 years in the 12 months to January.

The Russia-Ukraine issue, according to Georgieva, has prompted an exit of funds from emerging economies "when we need exactly the opposite, more financing going there."