Russia's finance minister attends G20 talks in Bangkok; Germany's Klingbeil says Moscow is not a normal member

Russia's finance minister was back at the G20 table on Thursday, and Europe did not hide its irritation.

Anton Siluanov attended the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting in Bangkok on Oct. 15. It was his second in-person appearance at a G20 finance event since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova was listed alongside him.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. A seating plan places the Russian delegation between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

Washington opens the door

The United States holds the G20 presidency this year, and it welcomed Siluanov back to the finance talks after years of isolation over the war.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who would normally chair these sessions, skipped Bangkok and stayed in Washington.

The invitation fits a wider pattern. The Trump administration has also put forward a deal to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel imports until April. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies criticized it.

European Commission official Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC on Wednesday that "now it's not a time to ease sanctions on Russia."

Germany draws a line

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil was also in Bangkok. He has a history with Siluanov at this forum.

At the previous G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Klingbeil told Siluanov directly that Moscow must end the war. He declined to pose for the group photo with him. After European officials protested, the traditional photo was taken without the Russian delegation.

After Thursday's session, Klingbeil said: "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."

He also said he was following "with great concern what is happening with this opening," and that negotiations must not take place without Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.

That is the European position in the speakers' own terms. Russia is not a normal participant while the war continues, and no deal about Ukraine should be made without Kyiv.

No communique, again

The finance chiefs ended the Bangkok meeting without a joint communique. Divisions remain over the Middle East conflict, trade imbalances and Russia's war.

The Asheville meeting also closed without one. China objected to language on several issues there, including efforts to rectify excessive global trade surpluses. The U.S. issued a chair's statement instead.

So the U.S. presidency has now run two finance meetings without a consensus text. China, which remains the larger long-term strategic problem for Washington, blocked the first. Russia's presence has become the friction point in the second.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers issued a statement after the meetings. He said Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on commercial vessels "must end." He said the effects are "exacerbated by Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war in Ukraine," and he called on Moscow to end the war and respect Ukraine's sovereignty.

The U.S. holds the chair and decides who is invited. That is a legitimate use of the presidency. The cost is also visible: the allies Washington needs on Russia sanctions and on Chinese trade practices are now publicly at odds with it over who belongs in the room.

The administration has not been quoted in the reporting explaining what Washington expects Russia to offer in return for its seat. Neither has it said whether the diesel sanctions break is tied to any Russian step on Ukraine.

Siluanov's attendance was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter, not by an on-record Russian or U.S. statement in the material gathered so far.

The diesel waiver is set to run until April, and European officials have said they oppose it. Whether the G20 can produce a consensus communique under this presidency, with Russia seated, China objecting and Europe boycotting the optics, is unresolved.