Russia’s Lavrov: Western leaders want to militarize Southeast Asia
The US and NATO ‘are trying to master this space,’ Lavrov says at end of ASEAN summit in Cambodia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday accused Western leaders of looking to militarize Southeast Asia to contain Moscow and Beijing’s interests in the region.
“The United States and its NATO allies are trying to master this space,” Lavrov told reporters in Cambodia.
He was speaking at a press conference at the end of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, and ahead of the G20 summit in Bali later this week.
Lavrov is representing Moscow at the G20 meeting in Indonesia after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin is too busy to attend.
Lavrov said the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which President Joe Biden was promoting at the ASEAN summit, ignored “inclusive structures” of regional cooperation and would lead to “the militarization of this region with an obvious focus on containing China, and containing Russian interests in the Asia-Pacific,” Reuters reported.
On Saturday, Biden pledged at the ASEAN summit to help stand against China’s growing dominance in the region, saying: “We’ll build an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure.”
Russia has been seeking closer ties with Asia since Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The United States and its NATO allies are trying to master this space,” Lavrov told reporters in Cambodia.
He was speaking at a press conference at the end of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, and ahead of the G20 summit in Bali later this week.
Lavrov is representing Moscow at the G20 meeting in Indonesia after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin is too busy to attend.
Lavrov said the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which President Joe Biden was promoting at the ASEAN summit, ignored “inclusive structures” of regional cooperation and would lead to “the militarization of this region with an obvious focus on containing China, and containing Russian interests in the Asia-Pacific,” Reuters reported.
On Saturday, Biden pledged at the ASEAN summit to help stand against China’s growing dominance in the region, saying: “We’ll build an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure.”
Russia has been seeking closer ties with Asia since Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
