Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to host leaders from South-East Asia in the Volga city of Kazan on Wednesday for a two-day Russia-ASEAN summit, as Moscow seeks to strengthen ties with other world regions after relations with the West collapsed over Putin's war in Ukraine.
The meeting is taking place as the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialized nations meet in France.
The presidents of Vietnam and the Philippines, To Lam and Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia, Anutin Charnvirakul and Hun Manet, have already confirmed they will attend. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith are also considered likely to take part.
The summit is intended as an exchange of views on current regional and international political issues and to deepen cooperation in politics, trade, security and investment, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said ahead of the meeting. The possibility of stronger humanitarian cooperation will also be discussed, he said.
Putin plans a series of bilateral meetings with the visiting international leaders. They are intended to show the outside world that he is not internationally isolated. The G7, meanwhile, want to increase pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) consists of a total of 11 countries from the region. Russia established contact with ASEAN 35 years ago and has since steadily expanded relations.
