Putin at SCO Summit: Peace in Ukraine Requires Addressing Root Causes and Restoring Security Balance

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin that resolving the conflict in Ukraine requires removing its root causes and restoring a balance of power in the field of security.

Putin stressed that the Ukrainian crisis did not arise because of what the West calls “Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” but because of the 2014 coup in Kyiv, which, he said, was organized and supported by Western powers.

“And then came the attempts to use military force to suppress those regions and those people in Ukraine who did not accept or support the coup,” Putin emphasized.

NATO Expansion as Key Trigger

The Russian president also pointed to repeated Western attempts to draw Kyiv into NATO as one of the main causes of the conflict. He reminded the audience that Moscow has consistently warned that Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance represents a direct threat to Russian security.

He underlined that Russia’s stance on the crisis remains unchanged: no country can build its own security at the expense of another.

Putin on Meeting with Trump in Alaska

Putin expressed optimism that his recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska could help open a path toward peace in Ukraine.

“The understandings reached at the recent Russian-American summit in Alaska, I hope, also move in this direction [of resolving the conflict], opening the road to peace in Ukraine,” he stated.

The Russian leader added that he would inform his foreign counterparts at the SCO summit in detail about the results of his talks with Trump.

Largest SCO Summit in History

The SCO summit is being held in the Chinese city of Tianjin from August 31 to September 1, bringing together more than 20 heads of state. Putin was personally welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.