G20 summit: Putin rejects accusations of war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected accusations of his war of aggression in Ukraine at a virtual G20 summit. According to the Kremlin, some participants of the group of leading economic powers (G20) had expressed their shock at Russia's aggression in Ukraine in their speeches. "Yes, of course, acts of war are always a tragedy." We need to think about how this tragedy can be ended, he said.
The Kremlin repeatedly portrays Ukraine as a country allegedly run by "neo-Nazis" and presents the change of power that followed pro-European protests in Kiev in 2014 as the supposed trigger for the war. "Russia has never rejected peace talks with Ukraine," Putin also claimed. Ukraine, on the other hand, is refusing to negotiate.
In fact, Russia currently occupies around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014. For Kiev, the withdrawal of Russian troops is a condition for lasting peace. Moscow, on the other hand, rejects this.
Following a meeting with the Italian head of government Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said that it was a good opportunity to make it clear that peace could easily be restored in Ukraine if Russia withdrew its troops. "And we did that, and so did others. And in that respect, it was also interesting because he had to listen." Meloni spoke in a similar vein. She was visiting Berlin on Wednesday and joined Scholz at the G20 meeting.
Putin talks about the Gaza war
Putin then turned his attention to the Gaza conflict during his G20 appearance. He asked whether his colleagues were not shocked by the murder of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Terrorists from the Islamist group Hamas had carried out massacres in Israel on October 7. Israel's military subsequently carried out air strikes on the Gaza Strip and moved into the sealed-off coastal area with ground troops. According to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the members of the G20 welcomed the humanitarian pause planned from this Thursday.
The agreement between Israel and Hamas provides for a maximum ten-day ceasefire in Israel and the sealed-off Gaza Strip. Specifically, it involves the exchange of up to 100 hostages from Israel for up to 300 Palestinian inmates of Israeli prisons. According to Hamas, the ceasefire is due to begin on Thursday at 10.00 a.m. local time (9.00 a.m. CET).
Putin and the problems of the global economy
Putin finally blamed the leading Western powers for inflation and other problems in the global economy. Trillions of US dollars and euros had flowed into the economy, partly to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Putin said. However, this was leading to global inflation and higher prices for food and energy, which were primarily affecting poor countries.
The video call of the heads of state and government from 20 important industrialized and emerging countries was convened by the current Indian G20 presidency. Brazil will take over the presidency in December.
Source: www.dpa.com
