Putin says Alaska summit ‘understandings’ pave path toward Ukraine peace

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the “understandings” he reached with U.S. President Donald Trump at their August summit in Alaska had opened the way toward peace in Ukraine.

He indicated that the issue would be taken up further during discussions with leaders at a regional summit in China. Putin made the remarks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) forum in Tianjin, attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and leaders from Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

“We highly appreciate the efforts and proposals from China and India aimed at facilitating the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said, adding that the outcomes of his talks with Trump “could also contribute” to peace efforts.

He told the forum that he had already briefed Xi on the talks and would provide more details in bilateral meetings with the Chinese leader and others. “For the Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, the root causes of the crisis must be addressed,” he said, again blaming Western attempts to draw Ukraine into NATO as a trigger for the conflict.

Kyiv and its Western allies, however, continue to describe Russia’s 2022 invasion as an unprovoked war of conquest aimed at seizing Ukrainian territory.