European officials protest presence of Russian Finance Minister at G20 summit in Asheville

Donald Trump is facing a major backlash after inviting Russia’s finance minister to the G20 summit following three years of exile due to Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

Senior European officials refused to take part in a ‘family photo’ with Anton Siluanov on Monday amid widespread protest over his presence at the summit in Asheville, North Carolina.

Siluanov and other Russian central bank leaders were invited to the summit of G20 finance ministers by the Trump administration. The US president defended the decision by saying he gets “along with everybody”.

European officials have been left unimpressed. “I find the signal sent by receiving the Russian finance minister here quite troubling,” said German finance minister Lars Klingbeil. “I would have wanted greater clarity from the American side that he should not be received here as a normal guest.”

Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said he was unhappy to see Russia represented, although he recognised the right of G20 hosts to invite guests.

"We do not trust Russia. They lie constantly and you need to be really, really cautious while discussing with them,” he told Reuters. "So for me it would be very difficult to have any kind of conversation with Russia.”

The last time Siluanov joined a G20 summit by video link was in April 2022 - two months after Russia launched its invasion. Several officials from the UK, US, Canada and the European Central Bank walked out of the conference room in protest.

The two-day meeting came as the global economy is suffering an energy shock triggered by the Iran war, faces rising tensions over China's huge goods trade surplus and is braced for how an investment surge in AI will ultimately play out.

Discussing the invitation for Russia, Trump said on Monday: “We’re going to see what happens, but we like getting along with everybody. It’s one of the reasons that I’m so successful, I get along with everybody.”

Siluanov met with US treasury secretary Scott Bessent. A spokesperson for the US Treasury said he had held a “productive meeting with the Russian finance minister, and reinforced the president’s push for world peace”, according to the Financial Times.

A source told Reuters that Bessent had told Siluanov that no economic relief would be given to Russia until the war ended.

Erin Browne, an undersecretary for international affairs at the treasury, told The Washington Post that it is “important to have dialogue even during times of conflict”.

When asked about the objections from European officials, she added: “We’ve had constructive dialogue around the table in the plenary session.”