Rubio Joins Hagerty, Hill, and Colleagues in Letter to Block Russian Access to Further IMF Financing

Press Release

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), along with U.S. Representative French Hill (R-AR) and 38 other members of the Senate and House of Representatives, sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Biden Administration to encourage International Monetary Fund member countries to not facilitate any exchange of Russia's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which provide Putin a source of international financing for his war against Ukraine.

"The Biden Administration's support for the IMF's $650 billion general allocation, of which more than $17 billion went to Russia, ran counter to U.S. sanctions against Moscow even before the invasion of Ukraine," the lawmakers wrote. "We cannot allow these reserve assets to help the regime withstand the latest sanctions announced by the President, let alone offer additional billions through further allocations. Moreover, the U.S. needs to work with allies on the IMF Board to plan for contingencies if Russia is forced to approach the Fund for lending. The IMF should not rescue a regime that poses such a threat to global economic stability."

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