The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, admitted yesterday that the conflict in Ukraine is “a tragedy” and proposed “to think about how to put an end to it”, and the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, and the Prime Minister of ‘ Italy, Giorgia Meloni, replied to him that for this he must withdraw the Russian troops from the Ukrainian territory.
Putin participated by video conference from Moscow in the virtual summit of the G-20, which led to an unprecedented meeting with several international leaders, including some Western ones, such as Scholz and Meloni, who also joined virtually from berlin The Italian Prime Minister was in the German capital for a bilateral meeting.
In his speech, Putin criticized international leaders for being moved by this case and asked them if the start of the conflict in the Donbass in 2014 and the “extermination of civilians” in the Gaza Strip have not moved them. Regarding the shock caused by Russia’s “continuous aggression” in Ukraine, Putin said that “military actions are always a tragedy for individuals and families, and for the country in general; of course, we have to think how to stop this tragedy”.
The head of the Kremlin assured that he has “never given up on peace negotiations with Ukraine”, but that he demands that Ukraine must accept the territorial “new realities”. By this he meant the annexation by Russia through the military occupation of four Ukrainian regions, in addition to Crimea, annexed in 2014.
“It was the first time since the beginning of the war of aggression in Ukraine that President Putin participated in a G-20 meeting; I have asked him to withdraw the troops from the territory of Ukraine so that this war ends”, assured Scholz during the joint press conference with Meloni in Berlin. “It is Russia that has attacked Ukraine, and to restore peace, it is enough for Russia to withdraw its troops,” insisted Scholz. “When he started saying that Russia wanted to seek peace, I told him that the easiest way is for him to leave Ukraine,” said Meloni, who attributed Putin’s participation to not having to move of Moscow and in search of visibility. “I think it’s good that he was there; he had to hear us”, concluded the Italian premier.
Putin did not attend the last three summits of the G20 – the club of the 19 largest economies in the world, plus the EU and the African Union – held in Italy and India, with the excuse of the coronavirus. In the last one, last September, he was represented by his Minister of Foreign Relations, Sergey Lavrov.
In Berlin, Scholz and Meloni assured that their support for Kyiv will continue as long as necessary. Germany has just announced the sending of a new military aid package worth 1.3 billion euros.
Meloni’s visit to Scholz in Berlin culminated in the signing of a cooperation plan between Italy and Germany in various areas, from competitiveness to security, defense and energy. Thus, Scholz announced the construction of a pipeline between Germany and Italy for gas and hydrogen through the Alps.
