RUSSIA’S president said today that constant attempts by the West to draw Kiev into Nato are one of the main causes of the Ukrainian conflict.

Speaking at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit in northern China’s Tianjin, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the crisis arose largely because of the coup d’etat in Kiev in 2014, which was provoked by the West.

Mr Putin said: “The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to draw Ukraine into Nato.

“As we have repeatedly emphasised, this poses a direct threat to Russia’s security.”

Mr Putin said that as a result of the coup in 2014, “the political leadership of the country that did not support Ukraine’s accession to Nato was removed.”

He said that the “understandings” he reached with United States President Donald Trump during their recent summit in Alaska have opened a way to peace in Ukraine.

He told the SCO meeting: “We highly appreciate the efforts and proposals from China and India aimed at facilitating the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.

“The understandings reached at the recent Russia-US meeting in Alaska, I hope, also contribute toward this goal.”

He said he had already detailed to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday the outcomes of his talks with Mr Trump, and the work “already under way” to resolve the conflict.

“For the Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, the root causes of the crisis must be addressed,” he said.

Later in his speech Mr Putin said his support of UN principles, including respect for the independence of states, was “true and unshakable.”

He said: “Its charter includes the key principles of the supremacy of international law, the right of nations to self-determination, sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs, respect for the independence and national interests of each state.

“These principles are true and unshakable to this day. The SCO’s activities are built on them.”