India, Sept. 1 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on Monday and spoke about the root cause of the Ukraine conflict, while lauding India and China's efforts to resolve the crisis.

He said the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine must be addressed, and a security balance must be established. Reiterating Russia's stance on the conflict, Putin said that the West's "attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO are one of the causes" of the crisis in Kyiv. Follow SCO Summit 2025 Live Updates

The Russian President further stated that the crisis did not arise as a result of 'invasion', but "as a result of a coup d'etat in Kyiv, supported by Ukraine's Western allies".

He affirmed th...