TIANJIN: Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his Ukraine offensive to Moscow’s allies at a major international summit on Monday.
Putin blamed Western powers for triggering the three and a half year war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated eastern Ukraine.
“This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,“ Putin said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.
The Russian leader referenced Ukraine’s 2013-2014 pro-European revolution that ousted a pro-Russian president.
Moscow responded by annexing the Crimean peninsula and backing pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, triggering a civil war.
“The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO,“ the Russian president added.
Putin addressed the SCO summit attended by Russian allies including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also attended the gathering of nations.
Moscow and Beijing have promoted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an alternative to Western-led political and security blocs including NATO.
Putin said the world needed a replacement system for outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models.
“We highly value the efforts and proposals of China, India and our other strategic partners, aimed at contributing to resolving the Ukrainian crisis,“ he added.
Peace proposals have stalled despite US President Donald Trump urging both Moscow and Kyiv to strike an agreement.
Putin has rejected ceasefire calls while making hardline territorial and political demands as preconditions for peace.
Kyiv has ruled out these demands as non-starters.
The Russian leader said he would discuss conflict diplomacy and his latest talks with Trump in bilateral meetings.
He planned separate meetings with Modi, Pezeshkian and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Monday. – AFP
