Tianjin — Russian president Vladimir Putin declared on Monday that any credible path to peace in Ukraine must address NATO’s relentless push eastward, a demand he framed as central to restoring long-term stability in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO summit in China, accused the West of engineering the crisis by dragging Ukraine into NATO’s orbit. He argued that the war was not born from the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, but from Western provocation and the decades-long expansion of the Atlantic alliance into territories Moscow has repeatedly deemed off-limits.
“Unless the issue of NATO enlargement is resolved, there can be no sustainable peace in Ukraine,” Putin said, positioning the war as a defense of Russia’s security rather than an offensive campaign. He dismissed the West’s narrative that Russia alone holds responsibility, calling it a deliberate distortion of history.
Putin’s remarks came after back-to-back meetings with Chinese president Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, both of whom he credited for supporting dialogue over confrontation. Modi was photographed clasping Putin’s hand in a striking display of solidarity, while Xi reaffirmed China’s alignment with Russia on global security.
The SCO summit, dominated by criticism of Western power structures, served as a stage for Russia, China, and India to reinforce a vision of multipolarity. The three leaders cast themselves as guardians of sovereignty against what they described as Western interference. Modi underscored that India’s cooperation with Russia stretched from energy to space, while Xi urged greater coordination against what he called “bloc-based politics.”
Putin also highlighted his recent talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, suggesting that the discussions “opened the way to peace.” He offered no details but hinted that Trump had shown willingness to address structural security concerns in Europe, despite fierce resistance in Washington and European capitals.
Russia’s leader sought to frame the Alaska summit and the SCO gathering as connected steps in a broader diplomatic push, one that places Moscow at the center of negotiations while exposing the West’s failure to offer solutions beyond sanctions and military aid to Kyiv.
The remarks carried a clear warning to NATO: unless its enlargement policy is reined in, Russia will not back down. For Moscow, the SCO stage was not just about diplomacy but about demonstrating that, with China and India by its side, Russia remains far from isolated.
According to Reuters, Putin told delegates that NATO expansion must be confronted head-on to achieve “a truly lasting peace” in Ukraine, adding that the support of China and India would be crucial in reshaping global security arrangements.
