You're reading: At UN, Putin sticks to his view that military coup toppled Yanukovych and triggered Ukrainian civil war

Editor's Note: The following is the full transcript of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 28.

The following passages are directly about Ukraine:

“First, they continue their policy of expanding NATO. What for? If there were so blocks (ph) topped its existence, the Soviet War — Soviet Union have collapsed and, nevertheless, the NATO continues expanding as well as its military infrastructure. Then they offered the poor Soviet countries a false choice: either to be with the West or with the East.

Sooner or later, this logic of confrontation was bound to spark off a grave geopolitical crisis. This is exactly what happened in Ukraine, where the discontent of population with the current authorities (of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych) was used and the military coup was orchestrated from outside — that triggered a civil war as a result.

We’re confident that only through full and faithful implementation of the Minsk agreements of February 12th, 2015, can we put an end to the bloodshed and find a way out of the deadlock. Ukraine’s territorial integrity cannot be ensured by threat of force and force of arms.

What is needed is a genuine consideration for the interests and rights of the people in the Donbas region and respect for their choice. There is a need to coordinate with them as provided for by the Minsk agreements, the key elements of the country’s political structure.

These taps (ph) will guarantee that Ukraine will develop as a civilized society, as an essential link and building a common space of security and economic cooperation, both in Europe and in Eurasia.”

The entire transcript is here