Putin Hails Alaska Talks with Trump But Slams West, Modi Pushes Security and Connectivity, Xi Warns Against Bullying in World Order At SCO Summit in Tianjin

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping used the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) plenary session in Tianjin on Monday to set out contrasting but converging priorities -- from counterterrorism and connectivity to Ukraine diplomacy and resistance against Western “bullying.”

Image Source: PM NaMo

Addressing the summit, Russian President Putin said his discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska last month had “opened the way to peace in Ukraine,” but warned that any durable settlement required addressing the “root causes” of the crisis. 

He reiterated Moscow’s position that the conflict did not begin with an “invasion,” but with a “coup d’état in Kyiv supported by Ukraine’s Western allies,” and that attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO had directly contributed to the escalation.

“UN principles, including respect for the sovereignty of states, are still valid and unshakable today,” Putin said, adding that he appreciated the efforts of China and India to help stabilise the situation. 

He confirmed that he had briefed Xi Jinping and would inform Modi and other leaders of the details of his Alaska talks with Trump during bilateral meetings.

Indian Prime Minister Modi, in his remarks, shifted the focus to terrorism and development priorities for the SCO. 

“India has been bearing the brunt of terrorism for the last four decades. Recently, we saw the worst side of terrorism in Pahalgam. I express my gratitude to the friendly country that stood with us in this hour of grief,” Modi said.

Rejecting what he called “double standards on terror financing,” Modi urged SCO members to adopt a united stance. He outlined India’s vision for the grouping through the acronym “SCO” itself -- Security, Connectivity, and Opportunity. “We must unanimously denounce terrorism, separatism and castism, which remain global challenges,” he said, linking India’s domestic principles of “reform, perform and transform” to its multilateral diplomacy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, opening the plenary, called on members to “oppose Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, and bullying behaviour.” 

He invoked the “Shanghai Spirit” of trust, equality and common development, noting that the SCO had been the first regional platform to establish military confidence-building mechanisms and conduct joint counterterrorism exercises.

The optics of Modi, Putin and Xi sitting alongside each other in Tianjin underscored a wider geopolitical shift. The summit comes just as Washington has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports and threatened further penalties on Beijing, triggering debates about the erosion of U.S. dominance in global affairs.

With India anchoring its SCO policy around security and trade connectivity, Russia pushing for recognition of its Ukraine narrative, and China casting itself as a defender of multipolarity, the Tianjin summit signalled how Eurasian powers are converging around shared resistance to unilateral pressures -- even as they pursue distinct priorities.