Scott Bessent meets Russian finance minister at G20 summit in rare U.S.-Russia talks

At the G20 finance summit in Asheville, North Carolina, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a rare sideline meeting and posed for a solo photo with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Siluanov's unannounced attendance, invited by Donald Trump, marked Russia's first in-person G20 participation since invading Ukraine in 2022. The move sparked fierce backlash from European officials, who boycotted the group photo to exclude Siluanov, while German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil publicly condemned the invitation. Meanwhile, the US Treasury barred major press outlets from covering the summit amid market volatility.

Bessent-Siluanov meeting at G20

• ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 31, 2026
• ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posed for a solo photograph with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on August 31, 2026
• ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov discussed bilateral financial cooperation and cooperation within the G20, according to a statement from the Russian government

Russian participation in G20 summit

• ▪The Trump administration did not announce Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov's invitation or attendance prior to the G20 assembly on August 31, 2026
• ▪Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and representatives of the Russian Central Bank attended the G20 summit at the invitation of US President Donald Trump
• ▪Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended the G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 31, 2026, marking his first in-person G20 attendance since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022

European opposition to Russia

• ▪German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil described the decision to receive Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the G20 summit as troubling and demanded that Russia end the war
• ▪The G20 summit group photograph was taken without Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov following opposition from European officials
• ▪European officials unanimously demanded that Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov be excluded from the G20 summit's group photograph, threatening to boycott the photo entirely

Bessent credibility concerns

• ▪German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil blamed the United States' war with Iran for causing global bond market turmoil
• ▪US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faced global anxieties over US debt, the economic fallout of the Iran war, and skepticism regarding his recent interventions to prop up the Japanese yen and double Treasury bond purchases

US Treasury press restrictions

• ▪The US Treasury Department offered no explanation for rejecting numerous media accreditation requests for the G20 summit
• ▪The US Treasury Department excluded journalists from several media outlets, including Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal, from covering the G20 finance ministers summit in Asheville, North Carolina

5 sources