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

Key points

• Russia's finance minister attended a G20 meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, his second in-person appearance since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Russia would not be treated as a normal G20 member, according to a reported quote.
• The meeting ended without a joint communique, highlighting divisions over the Middle East, trade, and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russia's finance minister, Anton Siluanov, attended a Group of 20 meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, according to a seating plan seen by CNBC and a person familiar with the matter. It was his second in-person appearance at the event since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova was also listed as a Russian delegate.

The U.S., which holds the G20 presidency this year, welcomed Siluanov back to the finance talks after years of isolation over the invasion. The move has angered European allies and tests how far Washington can ease pressure on Moscow without breaking with them.

European pushback

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil was 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 U.S. efforts to bring Russia back onto the international stage. He reportedly said after Thursday's 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."

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

— Lars Klingbeil

Sanctions and divisions

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 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 without a joint communique, underscoring persistent divisions over the Middle East conflict, trade imbalances, and Russia's war with Ukraine. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the meetings to stay in Washington.