U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov Monday at the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina. A Treasury spokesman told Breitbart News the meeting was about President Trump’s peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The meeting comes just a week after CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Russian intelligence officials in Moscow.
Both the Kremlin and U.S. officials said little about the discussions. It was the first publicly-known visit to Moscow by the head of the CIA since 2021.
An Axios report said that Ratcliffe floated a trilateral meeting between President Trump, Russian President Putin, and Ukrainian President Zelensky in an effort to end the war.
Russian attacks on Ukraine have increased in recent days, killing 37 on Saturday, one of the deadliest days of the four-year war.
“Right now, Russia’s tactic is to wear down Ukraine and Ukrainians – first and foremost, our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media late Sunday.
The Treasury spokesperson said Monday’s meeting was aimed at discussing President Trump’s plan for peace and economic growth.
Bessent has emphasized economic growth as the primary focus of the G20 Finance Minsters meeting, eschewing the Biden-era focus on climate change and net-zero carbon policies.
Additionally, Bessent has led Operation Economic Outcast to isolate Iran. The Iranian regime has reportedly received intelligence from Russian officials, and some outlets have reported Russian drone incursions into Romania, a missile that crossed into Poland last month, and an uptick in alleged sabotage actions and cyberattacks in Europe.
Breitbart News reported Sunday that the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, Theophilos III, is planning to embark on a mission to meet both Putin and Zelensky to help find a way to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.
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