Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold a commemorative summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia in June, the Philippines' top diplomat said on Friday.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said in a post on X that she and her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, spoke on the phone about the ASEAN summit to be held in the Russian city of Kazan. The Russian Embassy in Manila said that ahead of the June 17 to 18 summit, Lavrov and Lazaro discussed “the prospects of expanding Russia’s strategic partnership” with ASEAN.
Aside from the Philippines, ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam. Most ASEAN state members voted to support a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but the regional bloc has maintained relations with Moscow as a “dialogue partner” and engaged Russian officials in annual top-level meetings.
Some of ASEAN’s diverse states have been perceived to be aligned with the United States, like Washington's treaty ally the Philippines, which currently holds the association's yearly rotating presidency. Other members have heavy trade and security engagements with China and Russia. Vietnam and Laos abstained from the UN General Assembly resolution concerning the attack on Ukraine.
Several ASEAN members, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, have either imported or expressed interest in purchasing Russian crude oil after global fuel prices soared after the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend the summit with Putin, a Philippine government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
It remains to be seen whether Singapore’s leader would attend. The wealthy island nation condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and imposed sanctions. The leader of Myanmar, which currently coordinates ASEAN’s relations with Russia, will likely not be allowed to attend. ASEAN has prohibited Myanmar’s leaders from attending top-level meetings after the army ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021.
