New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said 'Moscow has never refused peace negotiations with Ukraine'. Addressing the G20 leaders virtual summit hosted by India, Putin said, "It is not Russia, but Ukraine that has publicly announced that it is withdrawing from the negotiation process. Moreover, a decree was signed by the head of state prohibiting such negotiations with Russia".
He noted that this war and the loss of life cannot but shock. "Isn’t the bloody coup in Ukraine in 2014, followed by the war of the Kyiv regime against its people in Donbas, shocking? Isn’t the extermination of the civilian population in Palestine, in the Gaza Strip, shocking today? Isn’t it shocking that doctors have to perform operations on children, abdominal surgeries, and use a scalpel on a child’s body without anesthesia? Isn’t it shocking that the Secretary-General of the United Nations said that Gaza has turned into a huge children’s cemetery?", he said.
Putin highlighted that the situation in the global economy and the world as a whole requires collective, consensus decisions that reflect the opinions of the overwhelming majority of the international community - both developed and developing countries. "The world is undergoing processes of radical transformation. New powerful centers of global economic development are emerging and strengthening. A significant share of global investment, trade, and consumption activity is shifting to Asian, African, and Latin American regions, where the majority of the world's population lives", he said at the summit.
He informed that the first ships with free Russian grain had been sent to Africa, to countries in need. "As a responsible participant in global efforts to combat climate change, Putin said Russia plans to achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2060". He further stated that much has been done to focus the activities of the G20 member states on finding solutions to truly pressing issues on the international socio-economic agenda. "This is precisely why the G20 was created - as an important multilateral governance structure in the field of global economics and finance", he said.
He said, "Some colleagues have already said in their speeches that they are shocked by “Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine.” Yes, of course, military actions are always a tragedy for specific people, specific families, and the country as a whole. And, of course, we must think about how to stop this tragedy".
The Russian President reiterated that Moscow stands for restoring the spirit of open and mutually beneficial international economic cooperation, based on the norms of the UN Charter and the principles of collegial and mutually respectful teamwork. "It is important to achieve effective optimization of the system of global economic governance, namely: to restart the WTO in full, including its arbitration function.
"We are ready to work together to solve these pressing problems within the G20, as well as other international institutions, including the BRICS association, the weight and influence of which is, of course, growing, this is obvious, especially taking into account the process of its expansion", Putin said. It is pertinent to note while the Russian President attended the G20 virtual leader summit, Chinese President Xi and US Prez Biden skipped the India-hosted meeting.
