MANILA, Philippines (AP) 鈥� Leaders of the will hold a commemorative summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia in June, the Philippines’ top diplomat said 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 ASEAN鈥檚 summit to be held in the Russian city of Kazan.
The Russian Embassy in Manila said that ahead of the June 17 to 18 meeting, Lavrov and Lazaro discussed 鈥渢he prospects of expanding Russia鈥檚 strategic partnership鈥� 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 Feb. 24, 2022, , but the regional bloc has maintained relations with Moscow as a 鈥渄ialogue partner鈥� and engaged Russian officials in annual top-level meetings.
Some of ASEAN鈥檚 diverse states have been perceived to be aligned with the United States, like Washington’s , which currently holds the association’s yearly rotating presidency. Other members have heavy trade and security engagements with China and Russia. 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 U.S. and Israel in February.
Philippine President will attend the summit with Putin, a Philippine government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to discuss the matter publicly.
It remains to be seen whether Singapore鈥檚 leader would attend. The wealthy island nation condemned Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and imposed sanctions.
The leader of Myanmar, which currently coordinates ASEAN鈥檚 relations with Russia, will likely not be allowed to attend. ASEAN has from attending top-level meetings including annual summits with Asian and Western countries, after Myanmar鈥檚 army forcibly ousted Aung San Suu Kyi鈥檚 democratically elected government in 2021, sparking a civil war. Lower-level career diplomats have been allowed to attend.
ASEAN leaders proposed a five-point peace plan in 2021 demanding an immediate end to fighting and hostilities, but Myanmar鈥檚 government has failed to end the violence or foster dialogue.
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