Vladimir Putin has arrived in China for a regional security summit aimed at countering Western influence in global affairs, as he is joined by Xi Jinping and the leaders of Iran and North Korea in their first public show of cooperation.
Sunday 31 August 2025 18:25, UK
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Europe has a “pretty precise” plan to send troops to Ukraine, the president of the EU Commisson Ursula von der Leyen has told the Financial Times.
In an interview with the outlet, she repeated Europe’s line that security guarantees for Ukraine were paramount.
She reportedly added that Donald Trump had reassured Europe that there would be an American presence of some sort as part of the backstop for Ukraine.
This, the FT reported, was repeatedly affirmed to them.
Von der Leyen was said to have added that there was a clear road map along with an agreement from the White House – something that has been questioned in recent weeks.
The FT also reported that British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, NATO chief Mark Rutte and von der Leyen were expected to gather in Paris on Thursday.
After a summit in Washington between Trump and European leaders earlier this month, Ukraine’s allies left optimistic about a potential end to the war.
Since then, in the face of Russia pouring cold water on many of the suggested ways forward, Europe has been trying to maintain momentum forward.
Here are some of the latest pictures from China, where a number of heads of state have travelled for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit today.
After the arrival of leaders, they attended a banquet where Xi Jinping spoke, and watched a performance.
Our Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith explains all you need to know on the first day of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China…
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked Pope Leo after the pontiff called for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“Russia must end the war it began and refuses to end,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media.
Read Zelenskyy and Pope Leo’s messages below…
For context: Ukraine has been calling for a ceasefire before a permanent end to the war is worked out.
But following the summit in Alaska earlier this month, Vladimir Putin, and belatedly Donald Trump, have said a permanent end should just be worked out, skipping any potential ceasefire.
British actor Jude Law has been pictured as Vladimir Putin in a new movie.
The Wizard Of The Kremlin premiered today at the Venice Film Festival.
The film is an adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s bestselling book of the same name, an account of the Russian president’s rise to power alongside a fictional adviser called Vadim Baranov, who is played by Paul Dano.
Dano’s character was inspired by the real political strategist Vladislav Sourkov, who was considered the architect of the tightly controlled political system created under Putin.
China has talked up the first day of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit and the arrival of more than 20 world leaders.
In a handout, Beijing also hinted at the backdrop of global insecurity against which the meeting takes place.
It said the guests had arrived “accompanied by melodies of renowned national tunes” before sitting down for food.
Inside the banquet hall, Beijing said that Xi Jinping welcomed guests, referencing the backdrop of the summit, with economic uncertainty globally and wars in Europe and the Middle East.
It described the summit as coming at a time “with instability, uncertainty and unpredictability markedly increasing.”
As such, Beijing claimed the “responsibility” of the SCO was partly about “safeguarding regional peace and stability”.
Despite significant tensions and unresolved land disputes between China and India, the two are “partners, not rivals,” New Delhi’s foreign minister has insisted.
Both sides tried to talk up positive relations today at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin.
It matters for the war in Ukraine because, as our India reporter Neville Lazarus writes, see our 13.53 post for more, New Delhi is one of the biggest buyers of Russia’s oil, helping support its struggling economy.
Donald Trump recently hit India with tariffs for doing so, but this, Lazarus warns, risks forcing India into Beijing’s corner.
In a post on social media, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “I held a fruitful meeting with President Xi Jinping.
“We reviewed the positive momentum in the development of China-India relations since our last meeting in Kazan.
“We agreed that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is very important and reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, and mutual understanding.”
As a reminder, here’s what Lazarus writes about India and China’s relationship:
“Mr Modi’s visit to China is his first in seven years and the first since the deadly clashes in May 2020 between soldiers of both militaries in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives, resulting in an uproar in the country for retribution.
“The relations went into deep freeze.
“The two Asian giants share over 2,000 miles of border, much demarcated and with unresolved land disputes.”
Watch the moment that China’s premier Xi Jinping welcomes Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit.
The meeting in Tianjin was attended by several heads of state, including those from Iran, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Belarus and Turkey.
Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have discussed recent contact between Russia and the United States, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov says.
Ushakov did not elaborate on the talks, held on the sideline of a summit of the Shanghai Coooperation Organisation in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.
Putin attended talks in Alaska with Donald Trump earlier this month.
Russia has denied nuclear inspectors access to a new dam built at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant.
The dam was erected to keep six reactors at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in cold shutdown.
The plant, in occupied Ukraine, has been under Russian military control since March 2022 and has been the subject of multiple safety warnings by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
“Our access to this dam is essential to assess the cooling water situation which is crucial given the fragile nuclear safety situation at the ZNPP,” said IAEA director general Rafael Grossi.
The problem is compounded by the fact that the ZNPP now relies on a single off-site power line to receive the electricity it needs to cool its six reactors and their spent fuel.
IAEA staff reported hearing military activities on most days over the past week.
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