Russia attended a Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers meeting hosted by the United States for the first time in a while. It is the first time in four years after skipping four meetings following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov met separately with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the first day for a one-on-one meeting. But European representatives refused to sit with Russia, taking the diplomatic step of excluding it from the group photo.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 31st (local time) that Minister Siluanov attended the G20 finance ministers and Central Bank governors meeting held in Asheville, North Carolina. Minister Siluanov has been the "Putin's treasurer," leading Russia's Finance Ministry for 15 years since 2011. On the Russian side, Central Bank officials also attended the meeting along with the finance minister that day.
Russia has not lost its G20 membership even after the invasion of Ukraine. The G20 has no separate procedure for expelling members. Although major European countries have repeatedly considered expelling Russia, discussions have fallen through each time as members within the Group of 20 split between those shielding Russia and those seeking to exclude it.
On this day, Western countries except the United States protested Russia's return by walking out of the meeting room. In a meeting held in Washington, D.C., in Apr. 2022, when the Russian delegation began speaking via video, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada walked out, boycotting Russia.
By contrast, at this meeting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to improve relations by meeting the Russian finance minister one-on-one. The Russian Finance Ministry said that Minister Siluanov met Minister Bessent outside the meeting room to discuss cooperation in the financial sector between the two countries and ways to collaborate within the G20 framework. The U.S. Treasury also confirmed the two met. A Treasury Spokesperson said Bessent "had a productive meeting with the Russian finance minister and reaffirmed President Trump's efforts toward world peace."
That day, the European delegation encountered Minister Siluanov in the meeting room without prior notice that he would attend. Citing two people familiar with the matter, the FT reported that most senior European officials refused to be photographed alongside Minister Siluanov. In the end, ahead of the group photo shoot on the morning of the 31st, the organizers excluded him from the picture. The photo, in which delegates line up in a single row, is a ritual to show externally that member countries sit at one table.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters, "As long as the war in Ukraine continues, there will be no normalization of relations with Russia." "A joint response is best, but there are times when we are not sure whether one side's stance is becoming lax," he said. He added, "The signal of welcoming the Russian finance minister at such a venue is quite troubling," and, "I would like the United States to emphasize more clearly that Russia should not be received like an ordinary guest."
Minister Klingbeil said at the same venue that "Europe is preparing an additional sanctions package targeting Russia." At the same time, he asked for U.S. participation in Russia sanctions, saying, "We hope to work closely with the United States on the content of the sanctions." The European Union (EU) on the 23rd of last month unveiled its 21st sanctions package against Russia. The 21st Russia sanctions package freezes the assets of 48 individuals and 170 institutions and adds six corporations in China, India, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman that transact Russian crude oil to the sanctions list. The additional package mentioned by Minister Klingbeil would be the 22nd.
Officials said the United States, as the chair, drew up the invitation list for this meeting entirely. After taking over the G20 chair from South Africa in Dec. last year, the United States set the agenda and attendees directly. South Africa, which was chair last year, was left off the invitation list for this meeting. Spain, which President Trump mentioned in the context of halting trade, was also not invited. Russia, by contrast, received invitations for both the finance minister and Central Bank officials.
The U.S. Treasury described this meeting as a venue to discuss promoting growth, resolving global economic imbalances, and improving methods of sovereign debt rescheduling. In a speech on the 31st, Minister Bessent said, "The global economy cannot grow on the back of beggar-thy-neighbour policies that suppress fair market competition." Beggar-thy-neighbour policies are selfish economic policies that seek national interests and recovery by sacrificing other countries' economies. The agenda publicly set out by the U.S. Treasury did not include issues or regulations regarding Russia.
Reuters reported that European representatives met separately the night before the meeting to coordinate their response to Russia. Minister Klingbeil is said to have discussed Russia's attendance on the evening of the 30th with U.K. Treasury chief John Healey and European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde. At this venue, major-country officials concluded that keeping a channel of dialogue with Russia open for now would be better for exchanging messages in the future. Minister Klingbeil said, "The very fact that the Russian finance minister has returned after skipping four meetings means an attempt to normalize."