U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week will call on her counterparts to ramp up the economic pain on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a Treasury Department official told reporters on April 18.
The conflict "has demonstrated the need for the world's largest economies to stand together to defend international order and protect peace and prosperity," the official said.
Yellen is “deeply concerned” about the impacts that the war will have on the global economy, including rising food insecurity in developing countries, the official said ahead of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington.
Yellen is due to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the department said in a news release. The war in Ukraine is expected to be a central focus of the annual meetings.
Yellen will “reiterate the Biden administration’s firm support for the people of Ukraine as they defend their lives and their country,” the news release said. “The secretary will also underscore our shared resolve to hold Russia accountable and provide Ukraine necessary aid.”
The official who briefed reporters about Yellen’s schedule said she will not take part in meetings with her global counterparts if Russian officials are included. Russian Finance Ministry officials are expected to participate remotely in a Group of 20 meeting on April 20.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said Russia should be removed from the G20, and the United States has made clear that it cannot be business as usual, the official said.
Yellen is expected to use the meetings to work with allies on efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia while mitigating spillover effects, to call for the implementation of a global minimum tax deal, and to address food security issues.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo is also set to meet with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko this week.
Adeyemo on April 18 reiterated the U.S. position that China has a chance to pressure Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine and would thereby avoid subjecting itself to secondary sanctions.
“China has in the past -- and we expect them to continue to follow -- the sanctions regimes that have been introduced by us and the coalition" of sanctioning countries, Adeyemo said at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
“China's business with the rest of the world is greater than its business with Russia," he added.