Only six ministers of 27 attended the meeting, including Varga himself.
However, international organizations sent high-level participants, including the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, and the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Matthias Cormann.
Varga said the participation of “financial institutions of key importance” like the IMF and OECD attendance made the meeting “a success in all aspects.” He added that “despite the idea of the boycott, all member states represented themselves.”
“We have always said that sanctions often work the other way around,” Varga said.
The IMF has received widespread criticism from EU countries over its plan to visit Moscow, with nine finance ministers saying the visit “will undoubtedly be used for propaganda purposes by the Russian regime.”
Georgieva did not take part in the post-meeting press conference. Asked about the criticisms levelled at the IMF, Varga said “some countries” raised the issue during Friday’s meeting, but that Georgieva gave a “reasonable explanation about the situation” that the Moscow visit is in line with IMF rules.