Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made a surprise appearance in North Carolina at the US-hosted G20 fiscal talks, causing frustration and disappointment among European ministers and officials.
Siluanov’s Monday meeting in Asheville marks the first time the minister, appointed in 2011, has attended a G20 meeting in person since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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He held bilateral talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and the Russian Ministry of Finance announced that the two discussed financial cooperation within the framework of the G20.
U.S. officials said the meeting focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.
Asked about Siluanov’s invitation, President Trump told reporters: “We like to get along with everyone. One of the reasons I’ve been so successful is that I get along with everyone.”
However, European officials criticized the move.
Poland’s Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said he recognized the right of G20 organizers to invite guests but was unhappy to see Moscow represented.
“We don’t trust Russia. They lie all the time, so we have to be really, really careful when talking to them,” he told Reuters, stressing that Russia is the aggressor in the conflict with Ukraine.
“So for me it would be very difficult to have any kind of conversation with Russia.”
“Troublesome” signal
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the US decision to welcome Siluanov sent a “worrying signal”.
He said he told Siluanov in plenary that Russia must end the war and that “we clearly support Ukraine.”
He also said Europe was preparing an additional package of sanctions against Russia and looked forward to working closely with the United States on this measure.
European ministers and central bankers also objected to Siluanov appearing alongside Siluanov in the G20’s traditional “family photo,” European officials said. The photo was eventually taken without the Russian minister.
Klingbeil said European officials, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, discussed Russia’s involvement on Sunday and agreed that maintaining a path to dialogue would allow them to send a clear message to the Kremlin.
“But the very fact that Russia’s finance minister is back after four G20 meetings without Russia’s participation indicates an attempt at normalization, which makes it all the more important for us to push back.”
Mr. Siluanov’s appearance is in sharp contrast to the G20 meeting held in Washington, D.C., in April 2022, where his virtual participation led to the departure of officials from Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Central Bank.
White House defends talks with Russia
Asked about Siluanov’s presence, White House press secretary Khush Desai told AFP that the Trump administration was working with Russia to pursue a deal that would “stop the endless bloodshed that the president really condemns.”
“The president and the administration will never hesitate to talk to the people we need to talk to to facilitate that,” he said. “That’s what we’re working on here at the G20.”
Separately, Reuters and AFP, citing sources familiar with the Washington-Moscow talks, said Bessent had vowed that the United States would not provide economic aid to Russia until the war in Ukraine was over.
President Trump has pressed Moscow and Kiev to reach an agreement to end the fighting, but the original 28-point plan, which mostly complied with Russia’s demands, was criticized by the Ukrainian and European governments.
The United States, which currently holds the rotating G20 presidency, did not invite South Africa, last year’s G20 host, to the meeting. Poland, which is not a permanent member of the G20, was also invited.
Reporters from some major U.S. news outlets, including the New York Times and Bloomberg News, were not authorized to cover the rally.
The National Press Club condemned the decision, saying, “No administration should be allowed to hand-pick the press corps that scrutinizes this decision.”
The two-day meeting came as global debt levels hit a record of nearly $353 trillion and the global economy faces an energy shock caused by the US and Israel’s war against Iran. The talks also came amid rising tensions over China’s large trade surplus and uncertainty over the impact of a surge in artificial intelligence investment.
