ASEAN to have second summit with Russia

Russia has officially requested a summit this year with ASEAN leaders to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their dialogue relations, according to an informed source.

The source said the letter of request was sent at the end of last year to the ASEAN Secretariat. To celebrate the anniversary, President Vladimir Putin would like to invite ASEAN leaders to Moscow for the occasion.

Consultations among ASEAN senior officials have been positive, and they agreed in principle to mark the three-decade relationship with the regional grouping. The dates and venue for the second summit have yet to be decided, the source added.

Commemorative summits have been held with major dialogue partners such as the United States, China, Japan and South Korea in their respective capitals. However, such summits require early consensus and advance planning over an extended period.

Some ASEAN members would prefer to wait for the outcome of the ongoing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the Trump administration.

As a group, ASEAN does not want to be seen as siding with Russia. That would be one of the factors in determining whether the summit is held inside or outside Russia, according to the source.

Russia was admitted as a dialogue partner in 1996 and held its first summit in 2016 in Sochi, which was chaired by Putin.

ASEAN’s relations with Russia are highly institutionalised and do not produce high-level geopolitical outcomes comparable to those in other regions.

However, ASEAN continues to describe Russia as “an important dialogue partner.” Vietnam and Laos have close ties and cooperation with Russia.

Putin attended the East Asia Summit in Singapore in 2008, when Russia’s status was upgraded to that of a strategic dialogue partner. Moscow has already informed ASEAN of its desire to elevate ties further to a comprehensive strategic partnership, similar to those with the US, China, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Last year, two-way trade between Russia and ASEAN amounted to US$18.1 billion. Russia remains one of the largest arms exporters to the region, but it also exports minerals, oil, fertilisers and steel products.