The Japan Times - Putin hosts ASEAN leaders amid G7 pressure on Ukraine war

Putin has sought to deepen political and economic ties with Asia during Moscow's more than four-year full-scale offensive against Ukraine.

The summit in the capital of Tatarstan, around 700 kilometres (435 miles) east of Moscow, comes as the G7 meets in France with ending the Ukraine and Middle East wars its main focus.

Representatives of 11 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will arrive in Kazan on Wednesday, with the main day of the summit set for the following day.

It commemorates 35 years of collaboration between Russia and the ASEAN countries, the Kremlin said.

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore are sending their prime ministers, while the Philippines will be represented by President Ferdinand Marcos.

Myanmar -- which held a coup in 2021 and has close ties to Moscow -- will also send a delegation.

Moscow said the leaders will "exchange views on global and regional problems" and new aims in Russia-ASEAN ties in "security, trade, investment and humanitarian cooperation."

Facing giant Western sanctions over its Ukraine offensive, Moscow has reoriented its economy -- especially oil exports -- towards Asia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim intends to discuss "ensuring that oil supplies can continue to be channelled" to Malaysia, the country's national news agency reported.

Asian countries have been particularly hard hit by the energy crisis triggered by the US-Israel war with Iran.

- Pressure on Russia -

Russia's economy -- on a war footing for four years -- is struggling due to high inflation, a labour shortage and high borrowing costs.

On the Ukrainian battlefield, the advance of forces has slowed this year. Kyiv has multiplied attacks on Russian soil, including Tatarstan, where the summit will be held.

At the G7 in France, US President Donald Trump said Moscow should "make a deal" to end the Ukraine war, as he met Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump also said Washington will soon be able to reimpose sanctions against Russian oil.

"Soon we will be able to do that as the oil is now flowing" through the Strait of Hormuz after the deal with Iran to end the Middle East war, Trump said.

Washington had imposed and then extended a sanctions waiver for Russian oil cargoes already at sea, troubling European allies.

Putin has repeatedly refused offers for face-to-face talks with Zelensky, insisting that Moscow intends to capture Ukraine's eastern Donbas region by force.

The Russian leader, 73, ordered a full-scale military attack on Ukraine in February 2022, which has since turned into Europe's worst conflict since WWII.

S.Suzuki--JT