Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the virtual G20 summit, also addressed allegations against his country regarding the war in Ukraine, which he vehemently denied.
According to the German news platform Münchner Merkur, Putin stated that ‘military actions are always a tragedy,’ but how this tragedy could be ended is something to be considered. According to the Kremlin, Putin said that some of the leading economic powers of the G20 countries were shocked by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Putin also claimed, ‘Russia has never declined peace talks with Ukraine.’ In his view, it is Ukraine that refuses to negotiate with Russia. At the end of his speech, Putin held the leading Western powers responsible for the inflation and other problems of the world economy.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after the summit that it had been a good opportunity to make it clear that peace in Ukraine could be easily restored if Russia would withdraw its troops. ‘And that’s what we did, and others did too. And so it was also interesting because he had to listen.’
Image: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, Vladimir Putin (23-04-2021).jpg, via Wikimedia Commons (no changes made)