Cambodia Extends Invitation to Russian Foreign Minister for Upcoming ASEAN Summit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press conference with his Malian counterpart following their meeting in Moscow, on May 20, 2022. (Yuri Kadobnov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Cambodia has invited Russia’s Foreign Minister to attend ASEAN-related meetings in August, despite Russia having been widely condemned over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Cambodia, the current chair of the 10-member association, will host ASEAN ministerial meetings, including the ASEAN Plus Three Meeting—involving Japan, China, and South Korea—and other related meetings from July 31 to Aug. 6.

Speaking at a press briefing on July 7, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said that Cambodia had sent an invitation to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to attend the summits but has received no reply.

“Our officials have been working on it for a week now and somehow I have not received any information from our team, but an invitation has already been sent,” Sokhonn was quoted as saying by Khmer Times.

Cambodia also plans to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to ASEAN summits in November, but Sokhonn said that such a decision must be made by consensus among ASEAN members.

The 10-member ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Last month, Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi reportedly told his Cambodian counterpart that Japan may reconsider its participation if Russia is invited to the ASEAN Plus Eight meeting, which also involves the United States.

However, Sokhonn suggested that Cambodia could follow Indonesia’s lead and invite Russia to ASEAN-related meetings, citing Indonesia’s invitation of Putin to the upcoming G20 summit.

Putin accepted Indonesia’s invitation to attend the G20 summit slated to take place in November, although it remains unclear whether he would attend in person or via video conference.

“Based on this pattern and based on the reason that the ASEAN meeting with partners is an ASEAN-led mechanism, it is possible to follow the Indonesian pattern or act more carefully and depend on a collective decision of ASEAN,” he said.

Cambodia Invites Burma’s Junta

ASEAN member Burma, also known as Myanmar, was also invited to attend ASEAN meetings but it can only send “a non-political representative” to the meetings instead of the military-appointed foreign minister.

Cambodia also invited the Burmese junta’s defense minister to attend the ASEAN defense ministers’ meeting last month, saying that it received consensus from eight ASEAN countries.

Burma’s military regime was barred from attending ASEAN summits after it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a military coup last year.

ASEAN adopted a five-point consensus (pdf) on Burma, including ending violence in Burma, facilitating constructive dialogue with all parties concerned, sending humanitarian aid to Burma, and a visit by the ASEAN delegation to Burma to assess the situation.