UK and Canada protest Russia's 'perverse' participation in IMF meeting

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

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland walked out of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington to protest the invasion of Ukraine when Russia's delegate spoke on Thursday, a British finance ministry spokesperson said.

Before walking out, Sunak "described (Russian President Vladimir) 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.