Putin makes statement on Ukraine war while in China
Photo: Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin claims the war against Ukraine did not start because of a Russian attack. It will continue until the “root causes” are eliminated, according to the Russian President's statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin.
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of China, India, and our other strategic partners aimed at facilitating the resolution of the ‘Ukrainian crisis,’” Putin said.
According to Russia’s President, the “understandings reached at the recent Russia-US meeting in Alaska” go in the same direction, “paving the way for peace in Ukraine.”
Putin stated that he will inform SCO leaders about the results of his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska. According to the Russia’s leader, he has already briefed Chinese President Xi Jinping about the meeting.
Putin’s narratives
Putin spoke of a desire to build a system “that would replace the outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models.”
Russia’s President claims that his country follows the same approaches “regarding the crisis around Ukraine.”
Putin stated that the crisis arose “not as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but due to a state coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West.
According to Russia’s President, “the second cause of the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to involve Ukraine in NATO, which, as we have repeatedly stressed for many years, constitutes a direct threat to Russia’s security.”
Putin also told a story about how, “as a result of the ‘state coup in Ukraine’ in 2014, the political leadership that opposed Ukraine’s entry into NATO was removed.”
Putin once again stated that he wants to achieve his goals in the war. “For a Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, the root causes of the crisis, which I have just mentioned and discussed repeatedly before, must be eliminated, and a fair balance in the security sphere must be restored,” the Russian leader said.
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Russia began the war against Ukraine on February 19, 2014. The full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.
Within the Council of Europe, a special tribunal will be created to hold senior Russian officials accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
The Trump-Putin meeting took place at the Elmendorf-Richardson base near Anchorage, Alaska. The meeting time was shortened, and the ceremonial lunch did not take place. No agreements were reached - neither on a ceasefire nor on peace. However, the parties described the discussions as “very productive.” European leaders and experts questioned Putin’s willingness to end the war.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a subregional intergovernmental international organization established in 2001 in Shanghai, China. SCO members include China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
At the SCO summit in China, 20 leaders of countries are expected, where citizens’ living standards are, in many cases, often more than ten times, lower than in G7 countries. Most of these countries are dictatorships, although India is formally still considered an electoral democracy.
