President Donald Trump has defended having Russia at the G20 finance meeting amid backlash from European officials who disapproved of the move. One of the reasons that I’m so successful, I get along with everybody,” Trump told reporters when asked about the matter. The U.S. hosted Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday where finance officials, central bank governors, and other international figureheads from 20 major economies gathered.
Russia has remained a member of the G20, but the country’s Finance Minister had been physically absent from the G20 summits since the country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. European officials remain committed to isolating Moscow over the war. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the event in Asheville.
Russia's Finance Ministry said the pair discussed Russia-U.S. cooperation on financial matters and interaction within the G20 framework. A Treasury spokesperson told Axios that Bessent and Siluanov spoke about Trump’s Ukraine peace plan and economic growth. A source familiar with the matter is quoted as telling the publication that Bessent ruled out economic relief for Moscow as long as the war in Ukraine continues.
TIME has reached out to the U.S. Treasury and White House for comment. The U.S. had not publicly announced Russia’s planned attendance ahead of the meeting.
European leaders were irked by the move, with some reportedly refusing to participate in a group photograph if Siluanov was included. Instead, Bessent posed for a photo alongside Siluanov on the sidelines of the summit. Germany’s Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters he “would have wished that the Russian Finance Minister is not received here at the G20 in the USA as a normal guest.” He added: “Every day, people die due to the Russian attacks.
One cannot simply return to normality under those circumstances.” Klingbeil also expressed he had made clear to his fellow European officials he would not pose alongside Russia’s finance minister for the G20 group photo. The final so-called “family photo” notably did not include Siluanov alongside the ministers and senior officials from other countries. Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told he was unhappy to see Russia represented, although he recognized the right of G20 hosts to invite guests.
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