US Treasury chief rules out agreements with Russia until Ukraine conflict ends

ASHEVILLE /North Carolina/, September 1. /TASS/. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov that no agreements between Washington and Moscow are possible until the conflict in Ukraine ends, Reuters reported, citing a source.

According to the source, Bessent told Siluanov that no economic relief for Russia or agreements on other issues were possible until the conflict was over. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors' gathering in Asheville, which runs from August 31 to September 1.

The Russian Finance Ministry said earlier that the meeting "discussed issues related to Russia-US cooperation on the financial track, as well as cooperation within the Group of 20." CNBC reported, citing a Treasury Department official, that the Bessent-Siluanov meeting discussed US President Donald Trump's "peace plan." The US Department of the Treasury did not immediately respond to a TASS request for comment.

Siluanov's first in-person appearance at the summit since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drew objections from other European leaders, and European governments have planned to expand sanctions to further squeeze Moscow's economy and finances, according to reporting by TASS. Bessent made clear to Siluanov that "nothing is possible until the war is over" when the Russian minister brought up other areas of mutual interest, Reuters reported. The meeting centered on Trump's peace plan for Ukraine and economic growth, according to Axios, while Russia's finance ministry described the discussions as covering financial cooperation between the two nations within the G20 framework.