ASHEVILLE, N.C. – SEPTEMBER 1: Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov will attend a plenary session on sovereign debt hosted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in preparation for the 2026 G20 Finance Conference to be held on September 1, 2026 in Asheville, North Carolina.
Melissa Sue Gerrits | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Russia’s finance minister attended the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, his second in-person appearance since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, testing the extent to which the US’s rapprochement with Russia could strain relations with Europe.
Anton Siluanov and Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova are the Russian representatives at the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors held on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, according to a seating chart obtained by CNBC. Mr. Siluanov also attended the meeting, the people said.
According to layout documents, the Russian delegation was seated between attendees from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil was also in attendance. At the Group of 20 financial meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, in August, he told Mr Siluanov that Russia must end the war and refused to take a group photo with him. The traditional group photo was ultimately taken without the Russian delegation after protests from European officials.
Klingbeil pushed back against U.S. efforts to reintegrate Russia into the international scene, reportedly saying after Thursday’s meeting: “I’m not going to pretend that Russia is coming back as a full member of the G20 and just trying to have a seat at the table again. Not with me or with other European countries.”
Russia’s seat at the table will be a test of how far the United States can ease pressure on Russia without cutting ties with its European allies. The United States, which took over the G20 presidency this year, welcomed Russia’s finance minister’s return to fiscal talks after years of isolation over the invasion of Ukraine.
The Trump administration also introduced a deal to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel imports until April, drawing criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European allies. “Now is not the time to ease sanctions against Russia,” Dombrovskis told CNBC on Wednesday.
In a statement issued after Thursday’s meeting, Australian Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on commercial shipping “must end”. These impacts are “exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked and unjust war in Ukraine,” it said, adding that Australia called on Russia to end the war and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Treasury secretaries ended the meeting without issuing a joint statement, underscoring deep divisions among members over the Middle East conflict, trade imbalances and wars with Russia and Ukraine. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who normally chairs the talks, was absent from the meeting and was in Washington.
The Asheville meeting also ended without a communiqué after China objected to the language on several issues, including efforts to correct the world’s excessive trade surpluses. Instead, the United States issued a chairman’s statement supported by all members present except China, which Bessent called an “opponent.”
According to the venue’s menu card, attendees started the day with a breakfast of grilled goat cheese, spinach, egg soufflé and chutney made with locally grown beauty tomatoes. The bread basket came with “Nam Dok Mai” mango jam. All cards featured the G20 logo of the American President’s Stars and Stripes and the tagline “Freedom 250,” commemorating America’s 250th anniversary.
Thursday’s meeting of finance ministers could have helped lay the foundations for better coordination on a number of global challenges, including energy issues stemming from the Middle East conflict and concerns about record public debt in developed countries. Leaders are scheduled to convene for the next G20 summit in Miami in December.
