Putin defends Ukraine invasion at China summit, blames West

TIANJIN, China: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday defended his Ukraine offensive to Moscow’s allies, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of eastern Ukraine.

“This crisis wasn’t 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 a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin.

“The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO,” the Russian president added.

Earlier, leaders from the ten SCO countries stood on a red carpet and posed for a group photo.

Xi, Putin and Modi were seen on live footage chatting, the three leaders flanked by their translators. Modi and Putin were photographed holding hands.

Reuters: China will work with all parties in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to take the regional security forum to a new level, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday, unveiling ambition for a new global security order that poses a challenge to the United States.

The SCO has set a model for a new type of international relations, Xi said in opening remarks addressing more than 20 world leaders at a two-day summit held in northern China’s Tianjin, adding that the forum unequivocally opposed external interference.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and other leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia attended the opening ceremony in a major show of Global South solidarity.

Xi spoke about constructive participation in international affairs, opposing hegemonism and power politics, as well as promoting multilateralism in his remarks.