Schultz called on Putin to stop the aggression against Ukraine. – I called on him to withdraw his forces from Ukrainian territory until this war finally ends, as the German Prime Minister said during a press conference in Berlin.
As Schulz said, Putin’s participation in the virtual G20 meeting was a “good opportunity” to clearly define how to return to ending the war in Ukraine. – It was Russia that attacked Ukraine. Agence France-Presse quoted Schulz as saying that peace can be restored easily, and all it takes is for Russia to withdraw its forces.
Russia’s reaction
– Yes, of course, war is always a tragedy. We need to think about how to end this tragedy, and Putin has responded to the calls of world leaders. He said that Russia has never rejected peace talks with Ukraine, adding that “it is Ukraine that refuses to negotiate.”
As the German news agency DPA asserts, the Kremlin “portrays Ukraine as a country ruled by alleged ‘neo-Nazis’, and presents the change of power that occurred after pro-European protests in Kiev in 2014 as the reason for the outbreak of war.”
Putin did not attend the previous meeting
Currently, Russia occupies approximately 20 percent. Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea, which was the first island to be annexed in 2014. The German news agency reports that “for Kiev, the withdrawal of Russian forces is a condition for lasting peace. Moscow rejects it.”
The Russian leader did not participate in the previous meeting of G20 leaders, which was held in September in India and Indonesia, and Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the time.
India, which currently holds the presidency, organized the video conference for the heads of state and government of the G20 countries. Brazil will assume the presidency starting next December.
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