On June 4, Alexander Pankin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, stated that while the United States demonstrates a desire to return objectivity to the work of the B20, it lacks genuine willingness to reach meaningful agreements. The comments were made during Pankin’s participation in the session “A New Course for Global Business: Investment, Innovation and Open Markets” at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Pankin noted that following nearly six months of U.S. presidential leadership, Washington has attempted to build dialogue in a peremptory manner. He observed that while the American side articulates its own priority topics and listens to opponents, it shows little interest in building consensus.
“The Americans declare their priorities and focus topics, they listen, but there is not much appetite for agreements or building consensus around these or other topics,” TASS reported Pankin as saying.
The Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that this approach is evident in strategic areas such as trade, finance, and energy. He expressed doubt about the United States’ current interest in collectively addressing global challenges, including economic, digital, and social inequalities between countries.
In response, Pankin highlighted the growing demand from the G20 for signals on restoring predictable rules of the global economy. According to him, the return to understandable market conditions is critical for long-term planning.
Separately, Russia has signaled readiness to resume contributions to the Arctic Council after a period of suspension. The organization faced challenges due to Moscow’s payment suspensions, according to Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of Russia for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
Dmitriev held telephone talks on June 3 with Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy of the President of the United States, and Jared Kushner, an entrepreneur. The key topic of their discussion was economic cooperation.
