Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected criticism of his war against Ukraine at a virtual G20 summit.
According to the Kremlin, Putin said that some participants had expressed their shock at Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine in their speeches.
“Yes, of course, acts of war are always a tragedy’’ he said, adding that from his point of view Ukraine will not negotiate. “Russia has never cancelled peace talks with Ukraine.’’
Putin once again cited the change of power following pro-European protests in Kiev in 2014, which he called a “bloody coup’’, as the trigger for the conflict.
Putin then discussed the Gaza conflict. He asked whether his colleagues at the G20 were not also shocked by the deaths of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
Putin had recently avoided the summit meetings of the Group of 20 industrialised and emerging nations, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, representing him at the last meeting in New Delhi in September.
The Indian G20 presidency convened the additional video summit due to the conflict in Gaza.
