US lays down a condition for Russia at G20 over the war in Ukraine
Photo: G20 (Getty Images)
Russia will not receive economic support or new agreements until the war against Ukraine ends, reports Reuters.
Tough US stance
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a bilateral meeting with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, North Carolina.
According to Reuters, the US official made it clear to the Russian side that economic cooperation cannot be expanded while the war against Ukraine continues.
According to the agency's sources, the peace plan of US President Donald Trump was discussed during the conversation. However, when Siluanov tried to move on to issues of mutual interest, Bessent, according to a Reuters source, stopped him and said: "Nothing is possible until the war is over."
The Russian Finance Ministry said that the sides discussed financial cooperation within the G20.
Reuters notes that the meeting took place against the backdrop of Siluanov's first in-person participation in a G20 event since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Siluanov attends in person for the first time
Previously, the Russian side had not sent its finance minister to G20 meetings in person since the start of the full-scale war. The current talks in Asheville marked the first such occasion.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Asheville, Russian and US representatives discussed financial cooperation between the two countries, as well as cooperation within the Group of Twenty.
