Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that Moscow has never refused peace negotiations with Kyiv and blamed Ukraine for pulling out of the negotiation process.

He called military actions a tragedy for people and stressed that the world must think about how to stop this tragedy.

In his virtual address at the G20 Leaders Summit, Putin said that some of the leaders in their speeches said that they are “shocked by Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine.”

Putin said, “Of course, military actions are always a tragedy for people, families, and the country as a whole. And, of course, we must think about how to stop this tragedy.”

“By the way, Russia has never refused peace negotiations with Ukraine. It is not Russia, but Ukraine, that has publicly announced that it is withdrawing from the negotiation process. And moreover, a decree was signed by the head of state prohibiting such negotiations with Russia,” he added.

Putin emphasised that the situation in the world requires collective and consensus decisions that reflect the opinions of the majority of the international community, including developed and developing nations.

He said, “Now the situation in the global economy and in 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 centres 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 added.

He stated that the first ships with free Russian grain had been sent to Africa. He stressed that the turbulence in the markets is increasing. Putin noted that the world economy is experiencing a “direct consequence of the ill-conceived macroeconomic policies of some states.”

“Turbulence in the markets is increasing. Chronic problems in the international financial sector, energy and food security are worsening. By the way, Russia fulfills all its obligations in this area and remains one of the largest food exporters. And today, I want to inform you that the first ships with free Russian grain have been sent to Africa, for example, to countries in need,” he said.

Putin said that “unlawful restrictions” on trade for the sake of strengthening their own competitiveness continue to have a negative impact. He also spoke about the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system.

The Russian President said, “Unlawful restrictions on trade and the biased-climate agenda of some countries for the sake of strengthening their own competitiveness continue to have a negative effect.To eliminate competitors and gain advantages, unfair methods of competition are also used.”

He further said, “I mean, in particular, not only the destruction of transport and logistics chains and international payment channels, but also acts of state terrorism. A blatant example of this is the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system, laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea.”

He called it important to achieve effective optimisation of the system of global economic governance and to increase the role of developing economies in international financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He said that Russia is ready to work together to solve the pressing problems within the G20.

“It is important to achieve effective optimisation of the system of global economic governance, namely, to restart the WTO in full, including its arbitration function. It is necessary to increase the role of developing economies in international financial institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank, and to use the resources of these organisations in the interests of the development of countries and regions that are truly in need, not for opportunistic political purposes,” he said.

“We are ready to work together to solve these pressing problems within the G20 as well as other international institutions, including the BRICS association, whose weight and influence are, of course, growing; this is obvious, especially taking into account the process of its expansion,” he added.

He said that Russia will continue to contribute to the balanced achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), preserving the climate and biodiversity of Earth, digital transformation of the world economy, and ensuring food and energy security.