Putin claims progress with Trump on Ukraine peace talks while blaming the West for the conflict.
Tianjin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he had reached “understandings” with former U.S. President Donald Trump regarding a potential resolution to the war in Ukraine during their Alaska meeting last month. Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin did not clarify whether he would agree to peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which Trump reportedly set a Monday deadline for.
Putin reiterated his justification for Russia’s invasion, blaming the West for the conflict and accusing it of provoking Ukraine and attempting to integrate the country into NATO. He stressed that the crisis stems from a 2014 coup in Ukraine, not Russia’s military actions, and emphasized his opposition to Ukraine joining the Western military alliance.
Following the Alaska summit, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff stated that Putin had agreed in principle to security guarantees for Ukraine, though Moscow has yet to confirm this. Trump suggested a permanent peace deal rather than a ceasefire, with Europe providing a defensive role and the U.S. offering “Article 5-like” security assurances, without deploying troops. Zelensky expects a formal security framework to be outlined soon but has rejected proposals for a buffer zone, accusing Russia of delaying negotiations.
Meanwhile, Russian military operations continue, with a recent drone and missile attack on Kyiv killing 23 civilians, prompting European leaders, including Germany and France, to intensify diplomatic pressure on Moscow to reach a peace settlement.
