G20 welcomes pause in Israel-Hamas war, hears Putin address

The leaders of the world's twenty largest economies, the G20, gathered for a virtual summit Wednesday, where they discussed, among other things, the latest news on the fighting pause announcement between Israel and the terror organization Hamas.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who holds the G20's rotating presidency until the end of the year, welcomed the news.

Modi, who convened the meeting, called on leaders to do everything in their power to ensure that the conflict does not spread further, calling it, "a matter of concern for all of us."

Modi condemned Hamas' October 7 terror attack on Israel — albeit without naming names — as well as condemning all loss of civilian life and calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza without interruption.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day pause in fighting to allow aid into Gaza as well as to facilitate the exchange of 50 Hamas-held hostages and some 150 Palestinians currently in Israeli jails.

Russia's Putin decries 'tragedy' of Ukraine war

Among those leaders in attendance at the virtual confab, was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who addressed the G20 for the first time since he launched his February 24, 2022, war of aggression on neighboring Ukraine.

Putin told attendees that they needed to find a way to end the "tragedy" of the war in Ukraine. The president added that Russia had never ruled out participating in peace talks, claiming Ukrainian laws had prohibited talks so far.

Russia's attack on Ukraine has grown into Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two, throwing the world economy into a tailspin and pitting Putin and his regime against the West, which has leveled numerous sanctions against Kremlin aggressors.

Russia launched its attack purportedly to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine, while at the same time seeking to solidify its illegal annexation of Crimea as well as expanding territorial control in parts of eastern Ukraine.

Western leaders have overwhelmingly shown support for Ukraine beyond sanctioning Russia, namely by providing arms and financing to Kyiv as it struggles to defend itself against a much more militarily powerful neighbor.

‘New challenges have emerged' Modi told attendees

India's Modi urged those in attendance Wednesday to implement various measures agreed upon at a September G20 summit in New Delhi. Those measures deal with climate financing, the reform of multinational development banks and the creation of guidelines regulating ethical artificial intelligence.

Modi also urged fellow G20 leaders to follow India's lead by contributing to a social impact fund that he kicked off with an initial $25 million contribution toward helping poorer countries meet future sustainable development goals.

Prior to hosting Wednesday's G20 summit, Modi met with leaders from 130 mostly developing countries.

Others attending Wednesday's G20 conference included Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — who will take the rotating G20 presidency in 2024.

js/jcg (AP, Reuters)