Diplomatischer Eklat: Auf US-Einladung: Russischer Finanzminister bei G20-Treffen

A diplomatic scandal erupted at the G20 meeting in the United States, where Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov participated despite US media not being allowed to attend. The two-day summit in Asheville, North Carolina, aimed to discuss how G20 countries could revive their economies. This was the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine that Russia's minister attended.

US Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) saw it as an attempt to normalize relations with the United States. However, he emphasized that the Russian minister should not have been welcomed as a regular guest given the war's horrors. Klingbeil also stated that Russia was a member of the G20, and it was beneficial for clear words to be exchanged at the forum.

He noted that setting clear messages in internal discussions was important. Klingbeil admitted that at times, his words might have frightened some people present. He had directly told Siluanov that the Russian government must end the war, pointing out the consequences of this conflict and expressing solidarity with Ukraine. Siluanov had previously sent a video message to the finance ministers' meeting in April 2022.

Many Western ministers walked out in protest, with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner staying and responding to the Russian's speech on behalf of the G7 countries. Unlike the finance minister, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov regularly attends G20 meetings, most recently in February 2025 in South Africa and 2024 in Brazil.

At the major summit in Miami, preparations were made for the December heads of state and government meeting. These pre-summit meetings suggested that the United States might not be an unproblematic host. During the last summit in South Africa, the Russians were not at the highest level but represented only by Kreml officials. President Vladimir Putin last attended such an international gathering in 2019.

This could change now, as Trump expressed positive views on the potential participation of the Russian president in April. "If he came, it would probably be quite helpful," Trump said. "I think everyone should talk to one another." The tradition of taking a "family photo" usually involves all participants. However, including the Russian Finance Minister raised concerns for Klingbeil.

He said a clear confrontation, debate, and explicit words about the war would have been too much for a family photo. European G20 countries had even called for a boycott, stating that without European participation, the US wouldn't attend either. Klingbeil's attempt to boycott the photo proved effective, resulting in a group photo of Europeans without Russian representatives.

However, this move also prevented journalists from Bloomberg and "The New York Times" from covering the meeting. The US Department of Finance had tried to intervene at a high diplomatic level with the US government to include the journalists. Despite their efforts, Bloomberg was denied accreditation. Only after US Finance Minister Klingbeil strongly expressed his disapproval were they finally granted access. The Russian media agency faced no such difficulties.