Russia's surprise G20 return draws sharp European rebuke as US pushes hands-off AI agenda

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made a surprise appearance at the US-hosted G20 finance track meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday — his first in-person attendance at the forum since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The move drew sharp criticism from European ministers and officials who said it signaled a dangerous normalisation.

Siluanov held a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Russia’s Finance Ministry said the two discussed financial cooperation within the G20 framework. A US official said the conversation focused on President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.

Separately, sources familiar with Washington-Moscow talks told Reuters and AFP that Bessent made clear the US would not provide Russia with economic relief until the war in Ukraine ends.

Trump told reporters: “We like getting along with everybody. One of the reasons I’m so successful, I get along with everybody.”

European ministers pushed back publicly. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil called the invitation a “signal I find troubling.” He said he told Siluanov during a plenary session that Moscow must end the war and that Europe “clearly support Ukraine.” Klingbeil said Europe is preparing a further package of sanctions against Russia and hopes for close cooperation with Washington.

Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said he was unhappy to see Moscow represented, while acknowledging the host’s right 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, stressing Russia was the aggressor. “So for me, it would be very difficult to have any kind of conversation with Russia.”

European ministers and central bankers opposed appearing with Siluanov in the traditional G20 “family photo.” The photograph was ultimately taken without the Russian minister. Klingbeil said European officials, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, had discussed Russia’s involvement on Sunday and agreed that maintaining an avenue for dialogue could allow them to deliver a frank message. “However, the mere fact that the Russian finance minister is back – after, I believe, four G20 meetings without Russian participation – indicates an attempt at normalisation, and that makes it all the more important for us to push back,” he said.

White House spokesman Kush Desai defended the talks, telling AFP the administration was working with Russia to push for a deal that “would stop the endless bloodshed that the president has really condemned.” “The president and the administration will never shy away from talking with the folks we need to talk to, to further that,” he said.

The two-day Finance Track meeting at the Omni Grove Park Inn brought together hundreds of global finance leaders to discuss inflation, artificial intelligence, the US-Israel war on Iran, and imbalances with China. Global debt has reached a record of nearly $353 trillion, according to sources.

Bessent, who owns a home in Jackson County, called Asheville a “comeback city” and said the event put the area “on the map globally.” He claimed the G20 events would bring a total economic impact of $20 million to the area, although that number could not be independently confirmed. The meetings are part of a year-long series hosted by the US, which holds the rotating G20 presidency this year.

US pushes hands-off AI regulation

Alongside the finance talks, the AI policy debate took center stage. The US delegation is pressing other G20 members to sign the “Carolina Principles,” a pact that would commit countries to refrain from creating AI-specific regulation except in extraordinary circumstances and to remove barriers to commercial AI investment. The effort is being led by Trump’s tech adviser Michael Kratsios.

“Policymakers do not need to approach each innovation in isolation and should not treat every emerging technology as a first-of-a-kind policy problem,” Kratsios will say in prepared remarks, according to Reuters.

The US approach contrasts with calls from major intergovernmental organizations. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in July that “innovation needs guardrails.” Separately, before the finance ministerial began, G20 Financial Stability Board chair and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey sent attendees a letter warning that frontier AI poses unique financial and cyber risks that can easily spread beyond borders.

Canadian officials attending the ministerial told Reuters they will advocate for a balance between innovation and “public trust and safety.”

At the Innovation Ministerial in Raleigh-Durham, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will host fireside chats with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Kratsios said in a post on X that Elon Musk, Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, and venture capitalist David Sacks will address attendees. Reuters separately reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will appear as well.

Media access restrictions draw criticism

Certain reporters from major US newsrooms, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg News, were not granted credentials to cover the gathering. The National Press Club condemned the decision, saying “no administration should be allowed to handpick the press corps that scrutinizes it.” Local outlets such as Asheville Watchdog and Mountain Xpress also reported they were not credentialed.

For journalists who did attend, movement was restricted, with most confined to a designated off-site media center aside from a few public events. A lunch event with Senator Ted Budd was closed to the press after originally being slated as open.

The US did not invite South Africa, last year’s G20 host, to the Asheville meeting. Poland, which is not a permanent G20 member, was invited.

The G20 Leaders’ Summit is scheduled for mid-December in Miami.