Asheville (United States) (AFP) – Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov made an unexpected appearance at the US-hosted G20 finance leaders’ talks Monday, and his physical attendance of the gathering after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has drawn ire. On Monday morning, Siluanov also met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Treasury Department said. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies are meeting for two days in Asheville, North Carolina, as Washington tries to rally support for greater economic pressure on Iran and find ways to boost growth.
But Siluanov’s appearance — his first in person since the 2022 invasion according to a European source — has frustrated some leaders. At a meeting of G20 finance ministers in 2022, when Siluanov attended virtually, the United States under former president Joe Biden’s administration led a multinational group in a walkout as Russian officials spoke. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters around midday Monday that he would have preferred a clear position from Washington that Siluanov not be received like a regular guest. “Receiving the Russian finance minister here sends a signal I find troubling,” Klingbeil said. The United States currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20.
Asked about Siluanov’s attendance, White House spokesman Kush Desai told AFP that the Trump administration has been working with Russia to push for a deal that “would stop the endless bloodshed that the president has really condemned.” “The president and the administration will never shy away from talking with the folks we need to talk to, to further that,” he said. “That’s what we’re working on here at the G20.”
Klingbeil said he told Siluanov during a plenary session that the Russian government has to end its war, and “that we clearly support Ukraine.” “At the same time, this morning I made it clear to the Europeans in the preliminary meeting that I will not stand with the Russian finance minister for a joint photo,” he added. “A family photo would be too big a step in my view.”
During Bessent’s bilateral talks with Siluanov, the US Treasury chief advocated for President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, a US official confirmed. Trump had pushed for Moscow and Kyiv to strike a deal to halt fighting, but an initial 28-point plan that largely adhered to Moscow’s demands was criticized by Kyiv and Europe.
© 2024 AFP
