Europe isn’t having it

Trump welcomes Russia back to the G20. Europe isn’t having it.

Moscow's inclusion was a sharp change from how the U.S. handled such gatherings after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

By Michael Stratford and Rasmus Buchsteiner

 The Trump administration’s decision to bring Russia back into the fold at a gathering of the world’s leading economic officials is stirring fresh tensions with European allies who want to continue isolating Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was in the room Monday for the first day of the U.S.-hosted G20 talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also held a one-on-one meeting with Siluanov on the sidelines of the summit.

Siluanov’s attendance, however, was opposed by European officials in Asheville on Monday, and the decision to include the Russian official in the meeting caused a stir in the planning of a group photo of participants.

“Secretary Bessent had a productive meeting with the Russian finance minister,” Erin Browne, Treasury’s undersecretary for international affairs, told POLITICO. Bessent “conveyed to him that the war needs to end, and we want to see a peaceful outcome,” she said.

A Treasury spokesperson said the two discussed “Trump’s plan for peace and economic growth.”

Browne said Russia’s inclusion was a decision made by the White House. “We are following the White House’s protocol,” she said.

Asked by reporters Monday about Russia’s inclusion in the gathering, Trump defended the decision. “We like getting along with everybody,” he told reporters. “One of the reasons that I’m so successful — that I get along with everybody.”

During his meeting with Siluanov, Bessent made clear that the U.S. would not provide economic relief to Russia until the war in Ukraine ends, according to a person familiar with the meeting. When the Russian finance minister “tried to discuss areas of interest to take action on, Secretary Bessent forcefully interrupted and said nothing is possible until the war is over,” said the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

The inclusion of Russia represented a sharp change from how the U.S. handled such gatherings after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. During the Biden administration, U.S. officials joined European counterparts in publicly protesting Moscow’s participation in international economic forums. Then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was among Western officials who walked out of a G20 meeting in 2022 when a Russian official began speaking.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters he had made clear “that he would not pose for a group photo with the Russian finance minister,” noting that such a photo had not taken place in recent years.

Klingbeil said he coordinated his position with other European officials.

“The Europeans’ united approach ultimately meant that the group photo took place without the Russian finance minister and without the Russian delegation,” he said.

A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the photo dust-up. Treasury on Monday evening released the photo, which did not include the Russian official.

During the talks in Asheville, Klingbeil said he took the opportunity to “tell the Russian finance minister straight to his face” that the Russian government must end the war against Ukraine.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sharply criticized the administration’s decision to include Russia.

“The Trump Admin needs to pressure Putin and his cronies, not offer them a platform,” Shaheen said in a statement. She also urged the House to take up a new Russia sanctions package that overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this month.