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00:00 It was the first G20 summit Vladimir Putin has joined, albeit remotely, since the 2022
00:06 Ukraine conflict.
00:07 In a virtual meeting with world leaders on Wednesday, the Russian president softened
00:12 his usual hostile tone, referring to the conflict as a tragedy and even at one point using the
00:17 word "war" to describe Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine instead of his preferred
00:22 term of "special military operation."
00:24 "Some colleagues have already said in their speeches that they are shocked by the ongoing
00:30 aggression of Russia in Ukraine.
00:33 We must think about how to stop this tragedy.
00:36 By the way, Russia has never refused peace negotiations with Ukraine.
00:40 It's not Russia, but Ukraine that has publicly announced that it's withdrawing from the negotiation
00:46 process."
00:49 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said he will only come to the negotiation
00:53 table if Russia withdraws from Ukrainian territory.
00:57 Speaking after the G20 meeting, the German Chancellor said Putin knew how to end the
01:02 war.
01:03 "The important thing for me is that it was a good opportunity for us to make clear that
01:09 peace in Ukraine is endangered because Russia attacked Ukraine and that it can easily be
01:14 restored if Russia withdraws its troops."
01:18 But Putin's shift in tone suggests he senses an opportunity to coax Ukraine's Western allies,
01:24 with their attention diverted to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the increasing division override
01:29 for Ukraine in the US Congress as the war grinds on.
01:33 Kiev launched a counter-offensive to retake occupied territory this summer but has not
01:37 achieved a major breakthrough.
01:40 Russia still controls nearly a fifth of the country, including the Donbas region and Crimea,
01:45 which it took in 2014.
01:47 The two countries are locked in a war of attrition with heavy losses on both sides and with the
01:52 advance of winter, troops now face fighting in snow and freezing temperatures.
01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]