Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is a Russian diplomat and politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004.
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Speaking during a press conference at the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, Lavrov scolded the United States over its actions in the region, which both Russia and the West see as a potential strategic geopolitical battleground in the coming decades.
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NATO hopes to play leading role in Asia-Pacific region — Lavrov
"The Russian foreign minister drew attention to a tendency to militarize the region by matching the efforts of local US allies, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with an expanding NATO presence
PHNOM PENH, November 13. /TASS/. NATO has stopped claiming its defensive essence and now hopes to play a leading role in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Sunday following his participation in the East Asia Summit.
"NATO no longer says that it is a purely defensive alliance. It was a defensive alliance when the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact existed. They have moved their line of defense since then, when there is no longer the Warsaw Pact or the Soviet Union. It is unclear from whom they were defending themselves. They have moved this line of defense closer to our borders several times, and now they announced at the Madrid summit this summer that they have global responsibility and that the security of Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific region are indivisible," the top diplomat said.·
"That is, in fact, they are now claiming that they will play a leading role here (in the Asia-Pasific region - TASS) and are already shifting the so-called defense line to the South China Sea," Lavrov added.
✓ The Russian foreign minister drew attention to a tendency to militarize the region by matching the efforts of local US allies, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with an expanding NATO presence. According to him, the Russian side frankly outlined its assessments at the East Asia Summit summit, and approaches similar to the Russian ones were voiced by Beijing as well.
"However, unfortunately, this will hardly make the US and its allies take into account the interests of most of the countries that are here," Lavrov continued, "But we will continue to convey our position. It is met with understanding within ASEAN, although there is no consensus in ASEAN as well on how to proceed in the security sphere in this region.
✓✓ So if the goal is to sow doubt in ASEAN and try to undermine their monolithic position, then the Americans have achieved their goal."
The Russian top diplomat noted the position of most ASEAN countries, which, according to him, were focused on defending their own interests and not subordinating ASEAN's actions to the interests of extra-regional players. "Our partners highly estimate the position of Russia, the position of China, which are in favor of preserving the central role of ASEAN," Lavrov summarized."
Southeast Asian leaders call for unity amid global tensions
Countries eye strained ties between the US and China with major international summits in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for unity, respect and multilateralism at a summit that included China, Russia and the United States, saying current global tensions have created hardships for everyone.
Hun Sen was speaking at the opening of the East Asia Summit (EAS), attended by 18 countries, in Phnom Penh as Cambodia holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
He said he hoped leaders would embrace a “spirit of togetherness in upholding open and inclusive multilateralism, pragmatism and mutual respect in addressing the existential and strategic challenges we all face”.
While he didn’t single out a country by name, there have been long-simmering tensions between the United States and China, with the latter working to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region and Washington strongly backing self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims.
“Many current challenges and tensions have been hindering our past hard-earned efforts to promote sustainable development and causing greater hardship to people’s lives,” he said as he opened the meeting, which is running in parallel to ASEAN’s main summit.
The 10-member ASEAN bloc includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The EAS groups the ASEAN countries, as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Tensions remain high between the US and China over Taiwan, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted global supply chains, creating food shortages and energy crises around the world.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang were at the event, a day before the highly anticipated meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.. ."
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