Russia returns to G20 in Bangkok on U.S. invitation that angers Europe

Russia’s finance minister attended a Group of 20 meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, his second in-person appearance at the event since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, testing how far Washington’s rapprochement with Moscow will strain ties with Europe.

Anton Siluanov and Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova were listed as Russia’s delegates at the finance ministers and central bank governors’ meetings on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, according to a seating plan seen by CNBC. Siluanov was in the meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter.

According to the layout document, Russian delegates were seated between attendees from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil was also listed as an attendee. At the August G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, he told Siluanov that Moscow must end the war and declined to pose in a group photo with him. The traditional group photo was ultimately taken without the Russian delegation after European officials protested.

Klingbeil has pushed back on the U.S. efforts to bring Russia back on to the international stage, reportedly saying after the Thursday meeting that “there will be no pretending that Russia is now returning as a normal member of the G20 and simply taking its seat at the table again — not with me, and not with the other Europeans.”

Russia’s seat at the table tests how far Washington can ease pressure on Moscow without breaking with its European allies. The U.S., which took over the G20 presidency this year, welcomed Russia’s finance minister back to the finance talks after years of isolation over the invasion of Ukraine.

The Trump administration also introduced a deal to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel imports until April, drawing criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies. Dombrovskis told CNBC on Wednesday that “now it’s not a time to ease sanctions on Russia.” 

In a statement issued after the Thursday meetings, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on commercial vessels “must end.” Those impacts “are exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war in Ukraine,” he said, adding that Australia calls for Russia to end the war and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The finance chiefs ended the meeting without a joint communique, underscoring persistent divisions among members over the Middle East conflict, trade imbalances, and Russia’s war with Ukraine. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who would normally chair the talks, skipped the meetings to stay in Washington.

The Asheville meeting also ended without a communique, after China objected to language on several issues, including efforts to rectify excessive global trade surpluses. The U.S. instead issued a chair’s statement backed by every member present except China, with Bessent calling China “the dissenter.”

Delegates started the day with a plated breakfast of baked goat cheese, spinach and egg soufflé with chutney made from locally grown Bijin tomatoes, according to a menu card at the venue. The bread basket came with “Nam Dok Mai” mango jam. Every card carried the U.S. presidency’s stars-and-stripes G20 logo and its “Freedom 250” tagline, marking America’s 250th anniversary.

The finance ministers’ meeting Thursday could have helped lay the groundwork for improved coordination on a raft of global challenges, including energy problems stemming from the Middle East conflict and concerns about record public debt in advanced economies. Leaders are expected to convene at the next G20 summit in Miami in December.