Russia's finance minister Anton Siluanov took a seat at a Group of 20 meeting in Bangkok on Thursday, his second in-person appearance at the gathering since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Siluanov and Bank of Russia Deputy Governor Elizaveta Danilova were listed as Russia's delegates at the finance ministers and central bank governors' meetings held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, according to a seating plan seen by CNBC. A person familiar with the matter said Siluanov was in the room.

The United States, which holds the G20 presidency this year, welcomed Russia's finance minister back to the finance talks after years of isolation over the war. Under the layout document, the Russian delegates were seated between the representatives from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, also listed as an attendee, has resisted Washington's efforts to bring Russia back on to the international stage. He reportedly said after Thursday's meeting that "there will be no pretending that Russia is now returning as a normal member of the G20 and simply taking its seat at the table again, not with me, and not with the other Europeans." At the August G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Klingbeil told Siluanov that Moscow must end the war and declined to pose in a group photo with him. The traditional photo was eventually taken without the Russian delegation after European officials protested.

The Trump administration has also brought in a deal to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel imports until April, drawing criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies. Dombrovskis told CNBC on Wednesday that "now it's not a time to ease sanctions on Russia."

In a statement issued after Thursday's meetings, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on commercial vessels "must end," adding that the impacts "are exacerbated by Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war in Ukraine." Australia called for Russia to end the war and respect Ukraine's sovereignty.

The finance chiefs closed the meeting without a joint communique. Members remained divided over the Middle East conflict, trade imbalances and the war in Ukraine. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who would normally chair the talks, skipped the meetings to stay in Washington. The Asheville meeting had also ended without a communique after China objected to language on several issues, including efforts to rectify excessive global trade surpluses. The United States instead issued a chair's statement backed by every member present except China, with Bessent calling China "the dissenter."

Delegates began the day with a plated breakfast of baked goat cheese, spinach and egg soufflé with chutney made from locally grown Bijin tomatoes, according to a menu card at the venue. The bread basket came with "Nam Dok Mai" mango jam, and every card carried the US presidency's stars-and-stripes G20 logo and its "Freedom 250" tagline for America's 250th anniversary. Leaders are expected to convene at the next G20 summit in Miami in December.