Russian President Vladimir Putin told Asian leaders at the SCO summit that NATO expansion must be halted to achieve peace in Ukraine, citing progress from his talks with Donald Trump and support from China and India.
Russian President Putin said that ‘understandings’ he reached with President Trump at a summit in August opened a way to peace in Ukraine, which he would discuss with leaders attending a regional summit in China https://t.co/JtRDn11BPZ pic.twitter.com/gtZ772TeNS
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 1, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said NATO’s eastward enlargement must be addressed before lasting peace can be achieved in Ukraine, stressing the need for a “fair balance in the security sphere.”
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin argued that the West’s attempt to draw Ukraine into NATO had fueled the crisis. “In order for a Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, the root causes of the crisis, which I have just mentioned and which I have repeatedly mentioned before, must be eliminated,” he said.
Putin also pointed to progress in discussions with former U.S. President Donald Trump, describing “understandings” reached during an August summit in Alaska as a step toward peace. “The understandings reached at the recent Russia–U.S. meeting in Alaska, I hope, also contribute toward this goal,” he added.
Putin praised China and India for their mediation efforts, noting their importance as key buyers of Russian crude oil. Ukraine and Western powers, however, continue to denounce Russia’s invasion as an imperial-style land grab, while Moscow frames it as a response to NATO’s post-Cold War expansion.