While the banning of Russian tennis players from Wimbledon may have simply been British arrogance, Russian officials were perhaps not wanted at the IMF/World Bank meeting today in Washington, because they were still being plotted against there. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in an afternoon press conference, stressed that “technical and banking experts” were in planning sessions at the IMF trying to devise “more economic pain” for Russia without destroying Europe, etc. She would not answer questions about what new measures there may be, simply saying they would be “made public in the coming weeks.” Yellen did say, “I am very deeply concerned” by the threat of starvation facing over a billion humans, even giving the figures accurately from the WFP, of 258 million in “extreme food insecurity” and 800 million more “seriously food-insecure.” She claimed that the IMF was trying to find ways for these people to survive while the entire Russian economy was wiped off the map as it must be. But if there was any other subject of the meetings than the Ukraine war, Yellen did not bring it up.
Yellen led a walkout against Russian minister Siluanov’s remote presentation, which included a group photo of a heroic Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Japan Central Bank head Kuroda, Canadian Finance Minister Freeland, and other assorted central bankers. She also promoted as her own idea “friend-shoring,” a revival of imperial-preference trade which would create “networks of friendly countries which enable us [who?] to continue to enjoy the benefits of division and rationalization of labor” while embargoing Russia and China.
