Putin criticises protectionism and sanctions at Eurasian Belt and Road summit

Delivering an address in Beijing at the One Belt, One Road summit – a trade initiative by China which aims to bring together dozens of states - Putin called on heads of state to abandon "belligerent rhetoric" to solve various geopolitical crises. He called protectionism and illegal sanctions a danger to openeness and free trade, a critizism directed at the European Union over the sanctions imposed on Russia after the annexation of Crimea.