Europeans bristle at Russia's return to G20

European financial ministers and officials expressed disapproval over Russia's participation in the G20 finance meeting held in Asheville, North Carolina. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stated that normalizing relations with Russia while its war against Ukraine continues is not possible. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended the meeting along with representatives from the Russian Central Bank, where they discussed financial cooperation between Russia and the United States.

However, several European ministers and central bankers opposed Russia's presence, fearing it would normalize relations with Moscow. They preferred a tighter stance against Russia. In the end, a decision was made to take a photo of the participants without including the Russian finance minister.