Story by Ross Ibbetson
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived at the G20 finance summit in the Blue Ridge Mountains facing a backdrop that was anything but picturesque.
Donald Trump’s renewed strikes on Iran over the weekend had pushed bond markets to record highs and a fresh trade war launched against Canada last week had darkened the skies.
Bessent had also angered European officials a month earlier, when the US Treasury sold euros to buy yen in a joint intervention with Japan to support the currency.
Then came the traditional ‘family photo’ which set off a diplomatic firestorm as Europe’s finance ministers refused to pose with their Russian counterpart. Moscow has been shut out of G20 events since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Europeans said they would send deputies if Kremlin finance minister Anton Siluanov was allowed to appear.
‘The joint approach of the Europeans, for which I am also very grateful, ultimately led to this family photo taking place without the Russian finance minister, without the Russian delegation,’ German finance minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters.
Bessent defended the decision to invite Siluanov, saying: ‘I know that some Europeans had a sour taste, but I think it’s very important to engage.’
Yet the diplomatic row was only one of several fights hanging over the summit in Asheville, North Carolina, where the Trump administration was hosting finance ministers from the ‘Group of 20’ countries.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent speaks at the conclusion of the G20 Summit of finance ministers at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, on Tuesday
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Bessent attending the summit
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh (second from left), Bessent (second from right) and Dimon (far right) at the summit in North Carolina
