European bankers refuse to share table with Russian official at IMF reception in Bangkok

Organizers of a reception during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Bangkok were forced to change the seating arrangements after European central bank officials [including those from France, Germany, Britain, Croatia] objected to sharing a table with … Russian deputy prime minister [Alexei Overchuk] …

After organizers changed the seating arrangements, Overchuk did not attend …

“I was pleased to learn that many heads of European central banks, when they discovered they would be sitting at the same table as the Russians, demanded changes to the approved seating plan or decided not to participate in the reception,” [Andriy Pyshnyy, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine] told Interfax-Ukraine. Pyshnyy described the incident as a small but important diplomatic victory for Ukraine …

The traditional group photograph at this year’s meetings was also canceled following objections to Russian participation …