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🇮🇱 Israel /Elections & Politics

Russia and US See Basis for Financial Ties, Finance Minister Says After G20 Meeting

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia and the United States had identified potential areas for financial cooperation after meeting at the G20 conference in North Carolina.
  • Siluanov said continued economic dialogue could make political discussions easier, while a US source said Scott Bessent ruled out economic relief for Russia until the Ukraine war ends.
  • The meeting marked Siluanov’s first in-person G20 appearance since Russia invaded Ukraine and has drawn criticism from European officials working on further sanctions.

Russia and the United States should keep talking about economics because financial officials may find common ground faster than politicians, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said after meeting US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the G20 finance leaders conference in North Carolina.

Siluanov said the two countries had agreed that grounds existed for developing financial ties, even though complications remained. “So we must always keep talking; we need to continue the dialogue. If we find strong points of common interest, and they do exist, we need to develop them. Then political issues will also be easier to resolve,” he said, according to Interfax.

The discussion was not presented as a breakthrough. A source familiar with the meeting told Reuters that Bessent made clear no economic relief for Russia, or agreements on other issues, would be possible until Moscow’s war in Ukraine ends. When Siluanov tried to raise areas of mutual interest, the source said, Bessent interrupted him and said: “Nothing is possible until the war is over.”

So we must always keep talking; we need to continue the dialogue. If we find strong points of common interest, and they do exist, we need to develop them. Then political issues will also be easier to resolve.

— Anton SiluanovThe Russian finance minister described continued economic dialogue as a way to make political discussions easier.

The US official said the meeting focused on President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine. Russia’s Finance Ministry said the ministers discussed financial cooperation within the G20 framework. Siluanov said it was his first meeting with Bessent.

The Russian minister’s first in-person G20 appearance since the invasion has irritated European officials pursuing additional sanctions against Russia. The United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s major oil companies in October 2025, but later issued licenses allowing the sale of seaborne Russian oil held in tankers after an interruption to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. The story remains developing.

Nothing is possible until the war is over.

— Scott BessentA source familiar with the bilateral meeting said the US Treasury secretary rejected economic relief or other agreements before the end of the Ukraine war.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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