The war in Ukraine is the “single most important negative factor for the world economy this year and most likely also next year,” Kristalina Georgieva, chief of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday in an interview with CNBC.
Georgieva said at the sideline of the G20 meeting, saying that her comment was in response to a missile hitting Poland on Tuesday, which killed two civilians, despite preliminary assessments that suggests the blast came from Ukrainian air defence against Russian attack.
In the current situation, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that “there was no indication this was the result of a deliberate attack, even as investigations are ongoing,” and added, “But let me be clear, this is not Ukraine’s fault, Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine,”.
The IMF Chief also reiterated that the G-20 summit that was held in Bali, Indonesia, just wasn’t focused on a joint declaration, but the meeting also focused on very pressing problems, such as global inflation, rising costs of living, food and energy security.
In a previous statement, the IMF issued a warning on the fragmentation of the global economy, cutting the growth forecast to 2.7% in 2023, stating that it would decline from 3.2% in 2022 due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
