This Thursday in Phnom Penh, Ukraine officially formalized relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmitry Kuleba considers important for the fight against Russian aggression against Kyiv.
Kuleba signed a document on access to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia with the ASEAN Chairmanship, which is currently held by Cambodia.
“ASEAN (…) offers great opportunities for trade, and political support from ASEAN countries is important to combat Russian aggression,” Kuleba said in comments posted on his ministry’s website.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 of this year, sparking a war that plunged Europe into its worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
In addition to Cambodia, ASEAN includes Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
ASEAN countries maintained restraint in the face of the Russian invasion, condemning the war but trying not to place blame.
Eight out of 10 countries in the regional bloc voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia, with Vietnam and Laos abstaining.
The ASEAN meeting at the Phnom Penh summit will last until Sunday, at the start of a diplomatic marathon in which several world leaders will travel to the region to discuss, among other things, the war in Ukraine and its global implications.
ASEAN is followed by the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali on Tuesday and Wednesday (15th and 16th) and the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in Bangkok. until 19.
The meetings come at a time when Russia is looking for new markets for its energy products to counter the fallout from Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, the US news agency AP reported.
In Phnom Penh, among others, will be UN Secretary General António Guterres, US President Joe Biden and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, representing leader Xi Jinping.
Russia will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who will also travel to Bali, after confirming President Vladimir Putin’s absence from the G20 summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address ASEAN via videoconference at the invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, host of the summit.
Kuleba said that Ukrainian diplomacy began to join the agreement with ASEAN in 2017, “but the process was slow.”
The talks moved forward after Kyiv “designated Asia as one of its foreign policy priorities in 2020.”
Kuleba said that after the entry into force of the agreement, Ukraine and ASEAN “will have a legal basis for maintaining regular political, economic, cultural and humanitarian contacts and developing mutually beneficial projects.”
To this end, the appointment of a permanent representative of Ukraine to ASEAN was announced in the near future.
“Joining this powerful association to the treaty will bring concrete benefits to the Ukrainian state, companies and citizens,” Kuleba said, referring to the ASEAN market of more than 660 million people.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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