Putin defends Ukraine’s invasion, says West backing coup in Kyiv led to conflict

TIANJIN: Russian President Vladimir Putin sought on Monday to defend his Ukraine offensive to Moscow’s allies, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half year war. «This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West,» Putin said at a summit of the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in China’s Tianjin.That is a reference to Ukraine’s 2013-2014 pro-European revolution, which ousted a pro-Russian president. Moscow responded by annexing the Crimean peninsula and backing pro-Russian separatists in the east, triggering a civil war. «The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into Nato,» the Russian president added.Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly touted the SCO as an alternative to Western-led political and security blocs, including Nato.Putin said the world needed a «system that would replace outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models, and take into account the interests of the widest circle of countries». «We highly value the efforts and proposals of China, India and other strategic partners, aimed at contributing to resolving the Ukrainian crisis,» he added.