Scott Bessent met with Russia’s finance minister. Then he said Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy sites were helping fuel a global ‘energy shock.’
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure one of the causes of the global energy crisis. He spoke after a meeting of G20 finance ministers in North Carolina, to which Anton Siluanov, Russia’s finance minister, was invited for the first time since the start of the war.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Russia's finance minister Anton Siluanov during a G20 finance ministers' meeting in North Carolina. He stated that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure were one of the causes of the global energy crisis, contributing to an energy shock and putting upward pressure on prices worldwide.
Russia's presence at the summit and bilateral talks with Bessent drew criticism from Ukraine's allies for allegedly shifting the blame from Russia to Ukraine. Ukraine's allies argue that the U.S. war with Iran has had a greater impact on global markets than the conflict with Russia. The energy crisis is driven primarily by wars, not by the U.S.-Iran conflict, according to Ukraine's former adviser.
The U.S. wants to reduce Russia's energy revenues without reducing its energy supplies to global markets, and fears of rising gas prices ahead of November's midterm elections have slowed the passage of a new sanctions bill in the House of Representatives.
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