Germany warned on Thursday against efforts to bring Russia back onto the international stage, as finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 economies met in Bangkok amid deepening divisions over Ukraine and sanctions.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended the meeting in Bangkok, just over a month after the United States hosted his first in-person G20 appearance since Russia invaded Ukraine, at a gathering in Asheville, North Carolina.
Klingbeil's rebuke
"I do notice attempts, particularly from the United States ... to bring Russia back onto the international stage," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters. "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."
British finance minister John Healey called on other nations to tighten sanctions on Russia-linked shipping, saying countries should stay the path on tough economic sanctions "especially a tighter ban on shipping services that help Putin's sanctions-busting shadow fleet to operate".
Transatlantic rift widens
The differences extended beyond sanctions policy. A US official said on Wednesday that the Trump administration was considering easing sanctions on vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that Europe would retain control of Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow's invasion, rejecting any suggestion they could be transferred to a US-supervised vehicle as part of a peace initiative.
President Donald Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, a move met with criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European countries and some Senate Republicans. Trump's envoys told Ukrainian officials last week that the diesel deal was part of an effort to draw Russia back to negotiations after the failure of previous efforts to launch sustained talks to end the war.
On the meeting's sidelines, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the gathering entirely, and no joint communique was adopted — the first time in eight years that an October G20 finance ministers' meeting has failed to produce an outcome document, according to Nikkei Asia.
Sources:
Reuters via ThePrint: Germany warns against bringing Russia back into G20 fold
Nikkei Asia: Japan finance minister — G20 concerned over yields, FX volatility
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended the meeting in Bangkok, just over a month after the United States hosted his first in-person G20 appearance since Russia invaded Ukraine, at a gathering in Asheville, North Carolina.
Klingbeil's rebuke
"I do notice attempts, particularly from the United States ... to bring Russia back onto the international stage," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters. "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."
British finance minister John Healey called on other nations to tighten sanctions on Russia-linked shipping, saying countries should stay the path on tough economic sanctions "especially a tighter ban on shipping services that help Putin's sanctions-busting shadow fleet to operate".
Transatlantic rift widens
The differences extended beyond sanctions policy. A US official said on Wednesday that the Trump administration was considering easing sanctions on vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that Europe would retain control of Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow's invasion, rejecting any suggestion they could be transferred to a US-supervised vehicle as part of a peace initiative.
President Donald Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, a move met with criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European countries and some Senate Republicans. Trump's envoys told Ukrainian officials last week that the diesel deal was part of an effort to draw Russia back to negotiations after the failure of previous efforts to launch sustained talks to end the war.
On the meeting's sidelines, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the gathering entirely, and no joint communique was adopted — the first time in eight years that an October G20 finance ministers' meeting has failed to produce an outcome document, according to Nikkei Asia.
Sources:
Reuters via ThePrint: Germany warns against bringing Russia back into G20 fold
Nikkei Asia: Japan finance minister — G20 concerned over yields, FX volatility
