Putin seeks ‘long-term, sustainable’ resolution of Ukraine crisis

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he is seeking a “long-term and sustainable” resolution to the Ukraine crisis, reiterating Moscow’s position that attempts by the West to draw Kyiv into NATO were the cause behind the Russia-Ukraine war.

These attempts by the West “are a direct threat to Russian security,” Putin told the 25th summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.

He said the Ukraine crisis “did not arise due to an invasion but due to a coup d’etat in Kyiv,” which he blamed on the West.

"We must ensure that the Ukrainian crisis is resolved on a long-term and sustainable basis by addressing the root causes of the crisis," he added.

Following his face-to-face meeting last month with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, Putin said he discussed the outcome of the summit, which he described as an attempt at "opening a road to peace in Ukraine," with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Russia will evaluate proposals of China and India on Ukraine, he added.

Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting in Tianjin on Monday.

Russia launched a "special military operation" against Kyiv in February 2022, and the war has continued since, resulting in deaths of thousands of people across their border, while millions have been displaced in Ukraine.