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<\/p>\nFILE – IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Yves Herman\/Pool Photo via AP, file)<\/p>\n
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) \u2014 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 Friday.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s summit to be held in the Russian city of Kazan.<\/p>\n
The Russian Embassy in Manila said that ahead of the June 17 to 18 meeting, Lavrov and Lazaro discussed \u201cthe prospects of expanding Russia\u2019s strategic partnership\u201d with ASEAN.<\/p>\n
Aside from the Philippines, ASEAN members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Most ASEAN state members voted to support a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia for its Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, but the regional bloc has maintained relations with Moscow as a \u201cdialogue partner\u201d and engaged Russian officials in annual top-level meetings.<\/p>\n
Some of ASEAN\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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 attacked Iran in February.<\/p>\n
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 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.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen whether Singapore\u2019s leader would attend. The wealthy island nation condemned Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and imposed sanctions.<\/p>\n
The leader of Myanmar, which currently coordinates ASEAN\u2019s relations with Russia, will likely not be allowed to attend. ASEAN has prohibited Myanmar\u2019s leaders from attending top-level meetings including annual summits with Asian and Western countries, after Myanmar\u2019s army forcibly ousted Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s democratically elected government in 2021, sparking a civil war. Lower-level career diplomats have been allowed to attend. <\/p>\n
ASEAN leaders proposed a five-point peace plan in 2021 demanding an immediate end to fighting and hostilities, but Myanmar\u2019s government has failed to end the violence or foster dialogue.<\/p>\n
FILE – Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro speaks during a news conference on the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Retreat in Cebu, Philippines, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jacqueline Hernandez, File)<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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