Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro announced on Friday that the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will have a meeting in Russia with President Vladimir Putin in June.
Lazaro shared a post on X, stating that she and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke on the phone about the ASEAN summit to be held in the Kazan city in Russia.
The Russian Embassy in Manila said that Lavrov and Lazaro discussed “the prospects of expanding Russia’s strategic partnership” with ASEAN.
ASEAN is a regional bloc that includes southeast Asian nations consisting of Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.
While most ASEAN members condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 24, 2022 through a United Nations General Assembly resolution, the bloc as a whole continued to maintain relations with the country as a “dialogue partner” and engaged with Russian officials in annual top-level meetings.
A Philippine government official, who chose to remain anonymous due to lack of authority to publicly discuss the matter, told the Associated Press that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will attend the meeting with Putin.
Singapore’s presence remains unclear as the country has been vocal in its condemnation of Russia’s invasion and had also imposed sanctions on Moscow.
The leader of Myanmar is not likely to be allowed to attend, although the country coordinates ASEAN’s relations with Russia. ASEAN had forbidden Myanmar’s leaders from attending high-level meetings, such as annual summits with Asian and Western leaders, after the nation’s military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in 2021, leading to a civil war. However, lower-level career diplomats have been allowed to attend such summits.
ASEAN leaders had proposed a five-point peace plan in 2021, demanding an immediate end to fighting and hostilities in Myanmar. However, the government did not follow through on the plan.
