Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday, addressing allies at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, while blaming the West for triggering the ongoing conflict.
Putin claimed the war was caused not by Russia’s attack, but by Ukraine’s 2013-2014 pro-European revolution, which ousted a pro-Russian president and was allegedly supported and provoked by Western countries.
He also blamed the West for trying to bring Ukraine into NATO, saying these actions further escalated tensions and created the current three-and-a-half-year war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated eastern Ukraine.
Speaking at the summit attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Putin called for a global system that moves beyond Eurocentric models and includes wider international interests.
Despite peace proposals from US President Donald Trump urging Moscow and Kyiv to negotiate, Putin rejected calls for a ceasefire, demanding Ukraine cede more territory and renounce Western support—conditions Kyiv has firmly rejected.
Putin also announced plans to hold bilateral talks with Modi, Pezeshkian, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Monday to discuss diplomacy and potential steps to end the conflict, highlighting SCO’s growing role in global politics.