US-Russia meeting on Ukraine at G20 summit sparks anxiety in Kyiv and reactions in Europe

US-Russia meeting on Ukraine at G20 summit sparks anxiety in Kyiv and reactions in Europe

In a diplomatic move that surprised Western allies and the Ukrainian government, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met on Monday (31) with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The bilateral meeting took place behind closed doors on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers' summit held in Asheville, North Carolina.

The central agenda of the talks revolved around the developments of a peace plan to end the conflict in Ukraine, alongside preliminary discussions on the stabilization of economic channels. The meeting marks the first in-person participation of a high-ranking Russian government minister on US soil since the large-scale conflict began in 2022.

The initiative triggered strong diplomatic repercussions. Government sources in Kyiv confirmed that Ukraine was not informed or consulted in advance about the talks, raising the level of anxiety in the European nation regarding the direction of potential bilateral agreements negotiated without the direct participation of Ukrainian representatives.

At the same time, Siluanov's presence in the United States caused friction with European delegations attending the G20. European Union ministers — led by the German delegation — expressed opposition to the Russian minister's integration into official protocol agendas, resulting in Siluanov's absence from the traditional group photograph of the event's delegation heads.

To date, the US Treasury Department and the Russian government have not detailed whether the terms discussed in Asheville are based on previous peace proposals or new backchannel diplomatic guidelines.