In brief
At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Vladimir Putin claimed to have reached 'understandings' with Donald Trump about resolving the war in Ukraine. However, he did not confirm whether he would engage in peace talks with Ukraine's President Zelensky. Despite discussing potential security guarantees for Ukraine, Putin reiterated his stance that the conflict is the result of Western provocation, alongside ongoing military actions against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he reached understandings with US President Donald Trump over the end of the Ukraine war, at their meeting in Alaska last month.
However, he did not clarify if he would agree to peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that were brokered by Trump, who had reportedly set a deadline for Putin's response.
Speaking during a summit in China, Putin continued to defend his decision to invade Ukraine, again blaming Western nations for the conflict.
Following the Alaska meeting, US special envoy Steve Witkoff noted that Putin had agreed to security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal, although Moscow has yet to confirm this.
Putin was speaking in Tianjin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He expressed gratitude for their support and efforts to help resolve the Ukrainian crisis.
He mentioned that the understandings reached with Trump might pave the way for peace in Ukraine, but maintained that the West was responsible for igniting the crisis through a coup in Ukraine and NATO's expansion efforts.
The ongoing conflict began with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and escalated to a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Putin's remarks came shortly after Russia launched a significant aerial assault on Kyiv, raising concerns in the West about Russia's commitment to peace.
French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that Trump's Monday deadline for Putin to agree to talks was indicative of whether he was genuinely engaged in finding a resolution or merely stalling. Trump had previously suggested that he could resolve the war quickly and pushed for permanent peace without NATO involvement for Ukraine.
Despite the discussions of security guarantees, Zelensky has dismissed any proposals for a buffer zone between Ukraine and Russia, arguing that Russia is not prepared for meaningful diplomacy.
