Overview

• Speaking in Tianjin, Putin said the crisis stemmed from a 2014 Western-backed coup and efforts to pull Ukraine into NATO, assertions disputed by Ukraine and its allies.
• Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry criticized the 20-page Tianjin Declaration for omitting any reference to Russia’s war and urged Beijing to help broker peace in line with the UN Charter.
• Putin promoted the SCO as a foundation for a new Eurasian security framework and noted increased use of national currencies in trade, with a heads-of-government meeting slated for November in Moscow.
• The Kremlin’s Yury Ushakov said there are no concrete plans for a Putin–Zelenskyy–Trump meeting even as Putin touted his Alaska discussions with the U.S. president as a possible path toward peace.
• European leaders said they are preparing robust security guarantees and a detailed road map for Ukraine, with Paris talks this week and contingency planning that could include troop deployments if a deal is reached.