US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Russia’s finance minister Russia won’t get economic relief until Ukraine war ends
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Russia’s Finance Ministry head Anton Siluanov there would be no “economic relief” for Moscow until the Russia–Ukraine war ends, sources told Politico and Reuters.
The ministers’ meeting centered on US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine.
According to those sources, Bessent told Siluanov that the United States would withhold economic relief from Russia until the war ends, though it is not specified whether he meant an easing of sanctions. When the Russian minister “tried to discuss areas of interest,” Bessent cut him off, saying “nothing is possible until the war is over.”
Erin Browne, US Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, told Politico the meeting had been “productive,” with the two men discussing “Trump’s plan for peace and economic growth.” Bessent, she said, told Siluanov that “the war needs to end.”
Russia’s Finance Ministry, in a brief statement issued the evening of August 31, stated that the two sides had discussed “issues of Russian–American cooperation on the financial track,” as well as “cooperation issues” within the framework of the G20.
The Bessent-Siluanov meeting took place in Asheville, North Carolina, on the sidelines of a G20 summit of finance ministers and central bank governors. It was the first time Russia’s finance minister had attended a G20 summit since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Anton Siluanov’s visit had not been announced in advance.
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