First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath, speaking about the desire of the West to use Russian assets in Ukraine, reminded states of the need to follow legal norms and ensure sufficient legal justification for each of their actions.
„Adherence to the existing legal framework is essential to maintaining confidence between countries and in the international monetary system. For example, many countries are closely monitoring the negotiations on the potential use of Russian state assets, including the reserves of the Bank of Russia, to help Ukraine. It is up to the relevant courts and jurisdictions to decide, but it is important to the IMF that any action has sufficient legal basis and does not undermine the international monetary system,” she said on Tuesday at Stanford University in California.
Gopinath added that rebuilding trust between countries requires a lot of effort and time. This is necessary to preserve the “achievements of economic integration”, she noted.