Amid two days of talks among G20 finance ministers and central bank heads gathered in Asheville, North Carolina, an unexpected and deeply awkward issue (for some) has emerged.
The whole session is being overshadowed by the fact that the White House welcomed Russia to the meeting, which has set off anger and frustration among the Europeans. Also, some key media outlets and prominent reporters have been banned from the summit.
Late Monday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made an unexpected appearance after his official US invite, and then was welcomed by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for a bilateral meeting.
This marks Russia's first in-person invite to the G20 since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022 - and it is happening while the US holds the rotating G20 presidency and is playing host.
The two officials reportedly focused their talks economic cooperation and on finding a way forward on finding a peace deal in Ukraine. According to the focus of the diplomatic interaction:
- In a statement, Russia's Finance Ministry said the talks covered financial issues between the two nations and G20 engagement.
- Bessent ruled out economic relief for Moscow as long as the war in Ukraine continues, according to a source familiar with the meeting. When Siluanov raised potential areas for cooperation, Bessent interrupted the official and made clear there'd be no progress until the war ends, the source added.
Despite Washington's effort to seize the opportunity for the sake of much-needed diplomacy with Moscow, at a moment the Ukraine war has been continually escalating, European officials vented to the press over the unwanted Kremlin presence.
"Receiving the Russian finance minister here sends a troubling signal," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said. "I made it clear to the Europeans this morning in the plenary session that I would not pose for a photo with the Russian finance minister," he told reporters.
Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told Reuters that while he recognizes the right of the host country to invite guests, it remains that "We do not trust Russia. They lie constantly and you need to be really, really cautious while discussing with them." He emphasized "So for me it would be very difficult to have any kind of conversation with Russia."
This led to the Russian representative being banned from the family photo traditionally taken at the g20 summits. This decision was apparently due to pressure by the Europeans, who may have threatened not to show up for the photo op. In the end it was taken without Siluanov.
But given the immense and rising tensions between Moscow and European capitals of late, the Europeans would do well to take the White House's example and finally engage the Russians, in order to lower the temperature and pursue badly needed de-escalation.