Holding the G20’s rotating presidency, the United States is hosting finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s major economies in North Carolina, with tensions over Iran, Russia and global trade dominating discussions.<\/p>\n
“We are going to continue exerting pressure, and we’ve had very good discussions here already,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Monday, a day after renewed exchanges of fire with Tehran.<\/p>\n
The European Union<\/a> welcomed efforts aimed at ensuring that Iran<\/a> ends what it called its “destabilising activities” and engages in peace negotiations, including through US-led economic pressure.<\/p>\n But EU ministers were unsettled by the unexpected appearance of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who held talks with Bessent.<\/p>\n A US official said Bessent used the meeting to advocate for President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.<\/p>\n Trump has pushed Moscow and Kyiv to reach a deal to halt the fighting, but an initial 28-point plan that largely reflected Moscow’s demands<\/a> was criticised by both Kyiv and European governments.<\/p>\n Siluanov’s presence at the meeting, more than four years after Russia<\/a>‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a>, frustrated European leaders who have sought to isolate Moscow internationally.<\/p>\n Asked about the invitation, Trump told reporters: “We like getting along with everybody. One of the reasons I’m so successful, I get along with everybody.”<\/p>\n German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said he would have preferred Washington to make clear that Siluanov was not being received as a regular guest.<\/p>\n EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday that it was not the time to “normalise” Russia’s presence at G20 meetings, as European leaders continued to push back against Moscow’s participation in the talks.<\/p>\n “We do not think now is the time to normalise Russia” or its presence at such meetings, Dombrovskis told reporters on the sidelines of the gathering in Asheville.<\/p>\n ‘Troubling’ signal<\/p>\n “Receiving the Russian finance minister here sends a signal I find troubling,” Klingbeil told reporters, adding that he had made clear he would not stand alongside Siluanov for a joint photograph.<\/p>\n The European Union<\/a> had agreed on a common position not to appear in the traditional G20 “family photo” with the Russian minister.<\/p>\n The photograph was eventually taken on Monday without Siluanov \u2013 and away from reporters.<\/p>\n White House spokesman Kush Desai told French news agency AFP that the Trump administration had been working with Russia to push for an agreement that “would stop the endless bloodshed that the president has really condemned”.<\/p>\n Zelensky hails ‘good meeting’ with Trump as Ukraine seeks Patriot missile deal<\/a><\/p>\n “The president and the administration will never shy away from talking with the folks we need to talk to, to further that,” Desai said.<\/p>\n A source familiar with the US-Russia talks said Bessent had made clear that Washington would not provide Moscow with economic relief until the war in Ukraine was over.<\/p>\n Trade tensions are also weighing on the G20 discussions, particularly the latest tit-for-tat dispute between the United States and Canada<\/a>, as observers question whether the group can still work together effectively on major economic challenges.<\/p>\n Analysts warn that the US-Canada trade dispute is also straining unity within the Group of Seven advanced economies, whose finance ministers are meeting on the sidelines of the Asheville talks.<\/p>\n Global imbalances and AI<\/p>\n “Canada has always been at the table and constructive, ready to discuss,” Canadian Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n He stressed the need to maintain economic growth and “bring back some stability in trade”.<\/p>\n Bessent skipped last year’s G20 meeting hosted by South Africa<\/a>, which was not invited to this year’s US-hosted gathering.<\/p>\n US officials instead invited Poland to take part in this year’s discussions, although it is not a permanent G20 member.<\/p>\n Beyond promoting economic growth, Washington has made tackling “global imbalances” and sovereign debt challenges among its priorities during its G20 presidency.<\/p>\n Business<\/a> leaders including JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon are also attending discussions.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, tech executives including Elon Musk, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman have gathered in North Carolina for a separate G20 meeting dedicated to artificial intelligence<\/a>.<\/p>\n