Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur later this month.
Anwar announced that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak will represent Putin at the summit.
He added that Putin is ‘considering attending next year’, indicating that Russia is continuing to engage with ASEAN despite not attending this year’s meeting.
The Prime Minister also clarified that Myanmar’s acting President, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, will not attend the summit, while stressing the bloc’s strong commitment to the five-point consensus on the political crisis in the country.
The three-day summit, scheduled to take place from October 26 to 28, is expected to be the largest gathering of world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, along with leaders of ASEAN member states.
Putin’s absence is expected to see the Russian delegation focus on maintaining dialogue on energy cooperation, defence, and food security through the existing ASEAN-Russia framework.
As the ASEAN chair this year, Malaysia is expected to drive closer regional cooperation in the areas of trade, sustainability and peace amidst increasingly fierce global competition.
