Bessent meets Russian delegation at G20 to push Trump’s Ukraine peace plan

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with a Russian delegation on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministerial in Asheville, North Carolina, pushing President Donald Trump's 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, according to CNBC. The meeting, which reportedly included Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, marked a notable moment of direct U.S.-Russia engagement at a gathering otherwise focused on global economic coordination.treasury+1

A spokesperson for Bessent told reporters that "the secretary is pushing President Trump's 28-point peace plan for Ukraine," according to News Ukraine RBC. The substance of the talks has not been made fully public.aljazeera

Parallel Signals From Moscow

The meeting in Asheville coincided with statements from senior Russian officials suggesting openness to continued dialogue. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special representative for investment and economic cooperation, said that contacts between Moscow and Washington were ongoing, particularly on economic matters. Dmitriev has served as a key interlocutor between the two governments since his initial visit to Washington in April 2025, when he met with White House envoy Steve Witkoff.rferl+2

Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Modi urged an end to hostilities, telling Putin that "every day spent in war sets humanity back". Putin responded that Russia was "moving in this direction," a remark Russian media interpreted as a signal of progress toward a settlement of the war in Ukraine.ukrmedia+2

A Contentious Peace Framework

Trump's 28-point peace plan, first leaked to Axios in November 2025, has remained deeply controversial. The proposal called for Ukraine to withdraw troops from the Donetsk region, recognize Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk as "de facto Russian," freeze fighting in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, cap the size of Ukraine's military, and bar Ukraine from joining NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Ukraine will not cede its territory to Russia.axios+1

At the G20 Leaders' Summit in South Africa last November, 11 nations including Germany, France, and Britain acknowledged the plan contained elements "essential" to peace but objected to provisions requiring Ukraine to surrender territory.nytimes

The G20 Finance Ministerial, hosted at Asheville's Omni Grove Park Inn, runs through Tuesday. Whether the Bessent-Lavrov meeting produces any formal follow-up or direct negotiations on Ukraine remains an open question.treasury