Putin reacts angrily as other leaders criticize Russian aggression in Ukraine

In his first address to officials of the Group of 20 leading economies since his invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday rejected criticism that the war’s aggression was “shocking” and accused Western countries of a double standard over their response to the war. conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Appearing at a virtual meeting of the G20, he called the war in Ukraine “a tragedy” that must be stopped and said Russia had “never refused” to enter into peace negotiations.

For Putin, it was a rare interaction with Western leaders since the start of the war last year. It was also the first time he had to listen to direct, public criticism of the invasion at an international event. Once he had a chance to respond, Mr. Putin could not hide his irritation.

“Some colleagues already said in their speeches that they were shocked by the continued Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Putin said. “Military actions are always a tragedy of specific people, families and the country as a whole, and we must think about ways to stop this tragedy.”

He delivered his eight-minute speech at an event organized by India as a follow-up to an in-person G20 meeting in September.

The fate of civilians in Gaza, which he called “an extermination,” was also shocking, he said, and implied that the West was willing to overlook aggression there. He also repeated Russia’s frequent claim that Kiev had acted aggressively against its own people in the Donbas in 2014, calling it shocking.

It was another example of a tactic Putin and other top Russian officials have resorted to in recent years: accusing the West of wrongdoing, often distorting reality, as a way to divert attention from their own country.

Mr. Putin called the fighting in Ukraine a war, instead of using the Kremlin’s euphemism of “special military operation.”

“I understand that this war and the loss of life can only come as a shock,” he said.

Mr Putin reiterated Russia’s official position that the Kremlin was ready to negotiate and accused Ukraine of rejecting the talks. “Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine,” Putin said. “It was Ukraine, not Russia, that publicly announced its withdrawal from the negotiation process.”

But for all his talk of negotiations, Putin has shown no willingness to abandon his goal of returning Ukraine to Russian dominance, let alone reverse his declaration last year that four southern and eastern Ukrainian regions being part of Russia – including territory. over which the Russian military has no control.

Ukraine has cited the need to liberate all its Russian-occupied territory before it can negotiate peace.

Mr. Putin also listed several grievances that Russia harbors against the West, such as the 2014 overthrow of Ukraine’s Russia-leaning president, Viktor F. Yanukovych.

The Russian leader’s speech highlighted how the world has been divided by the war.

When the G20 summit took place in September, the absence of Mr Putin – and of Chinese leader Xi Jinping – was a clear indication of the breakdown of the global consensus. While President Biden was present for the United States, Russia was represented by its Foreign Minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, and China by its Prime Minister, Li Qiang.

The war in Ukraine had cast a long shadow on India’s hosting of the G20 this year, with disagreements over the conflict making consensus difficult.

India, which was the group’s rotation host this year, sought to keep the agenda focused on issues ranging from rising global debt to climate finance. His leadership at the summit tested India’s balancing act between its historic ally Moscow and its growing relations with the United States and Europe like never before.

Delhi wanted to focus on the economic toll of the conflict on poorer countries. But during the negotiations, Western countries, led by the United States, wanted to infuse condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into discussions on every issue.