U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov during talks in Asheville, United States, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting that the war must end. Politico reported this, citing Erin Brown, the U.S. deputy secretary of the Treasury for international affairs, UNN writes.
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"Secretary Bessent had a productive meeting with the Russian finance minister," Brown said. Bessent "conveyed to him that the war must end, and that we want to see a peaceful outcome," she said.
A Treasury official said they discussed "Trump's plan for peace and economic growth."
Bessent discussed Trump's "peace plan" with Russia's finance minister - media31.08.26, 19:14
The Trump administration's decision to return Russia to the meeting of representatives of the world's leading economies has meanwhile caused new tensions with European allies, the publication writes, as they want to continue isolating Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Siluanov was present on Monday, the first day of the G20 talks organized by the United States. It was on the sidelines of the meeting that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a one-on-one meeting with Siluanov.
However, European officials in Asheville opposed Siluanov's participation on Monday, and the decision to include the Russian official in the meeting caused an uproar during preparations for the participants' group photo.
Brown said the decision to include Russia was made by the White House. "We follow the White House protocol," she said.
Responding to reporters' questions on Monday about including Russia in the meeting, Trump defended the decision. "We like getting along with everybody," Trump told reporters. "One of the reasons for my success is that I get along with everybody," he added.
During the meeting with Siluanov, Bessent "made it clear that the United States would not provide economic assistance to Russia until the war in Ukraine ends," a source familiar with the meeting said. When the Russian finance minister "tried to discuss areas of interest that should be addressed, Secretary Bessent firmly interrupted him and said that nothing was possible until the war ended," the source said.
Russia's inclusion marked a sharp departure from how the United States handled such gatherings after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. During the Biden administration, U.S. officials joined their European counterparts in publicly protesting Moscow's participation in international economic forums. Then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was among the Western officials who walked out of the 2022 G20 meeting when a Russian official began speaking.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters that he had made it clear "that he would not pose for a group photo with the Russian finance minister," noting that there had been no such photos in recent years.
Klingbeil said he had coordinated his position with other European officials.
"The unified European approach ultimately meant that the group photo took place without the Russian finance minister and without the Russian delegation," he said.
A U.S. Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the controversy surrounding the photograph. On Monday evening, the country's Treasury Department published a photograph that did not include the Russian official.
During the talks in Asheville, Klingbeil said, he took the opportunity to "tell the Russian finance minister directly" that the Russian government must stop its war against Ukraine.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sharply criticized the administration's decision to include Russia.
"The Trump administration should pressure Putin and his cronies, not offer them a platform," Shaheen said. She also called on the House of Representatives to consider a new package of sanctions against Russia, which the Senate passed by an overwhelming majority earlier this month.