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 confirmed on Friday.
Summit Details
Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro announced on X that she and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the upcoming ASEAN-Russia summit, scheduled for June 17 to 18 in the Russian city of Kazan. The Russian Embassy in Manila stated that Lavrov and Lazaro also explored "the prospects of expanding Russia's strategic partnership" with ASEAN.
ASEAN Member States
ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor, Vietnam, and the Philippines, which currently holds the association's rotating presidency.
Most ASEAN states voted to support a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, the regional bloc has maintained relations with Moscow as a "dialogue partner" and continues to engage in annual top-level meetings with Russian officials.
Diverse Alignments
Some ASEAN members, such as the Philippines, are perceived as aligned with the United States, while others have heavy trade and security engagements with China and Russia. Vietnam and Laos abstained from the UN resolution concerning Ukraine.
Several ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, have imported or expressed interest in purchasing Russian crude oil after global fuel prices surged following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February.
Attendance and Exclusions
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend the summit with Putin, according to a Philippine government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. It remains unclear whether Singapore's leader will participate; the city-state condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and imposed sanctions.
Myanmar's leader is unlikely to attend. ASEAN has barred Myanmar's top leaders from high-level meetings since the army ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government in 2021, sparking a civil war. Lower-level diplomats have been allowed to attend instead. ASEAN's five-point peace plan, demanding an end to hostilities, has yet to be implemented by Myanmar's government.
