Decision on level of Russia’s representation at ASEAN summit still pending, envoy says
MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. No decision has been made yet on the level of Russia’s representation at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) set to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, in September, Yevgeny Zagainov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN, told an online briefing.
"No decision has been made in this regard yet, but I expect that there will soon be clarity on the matter," he said in response to a question.
Zagainov pointed out that the ASEAN Chairmanship, currently held by Indonesia, had begun working on a draft final statement for the summit. "Last year, a statement failed to be adopted because of our former partners’ attempts to use the platform to promote their confrontational anti-Russian approaches, undermining the adoption of documents important for the countries of the region," he added.
However, Russia’s ASEAN envoy expressed confidence that the Indonesia Chairmanship would prove to be highly skilled and effective. "This can be seen by how preparations for the summit are going. In general, this time, if we recall the beginning of the year, the Indonesians announced plans to hold over 500 events during their chairmanship, which is an impressive number. Apparently, they are about to implement the plan," Zagainov went on to say. "We expect that the diplomatic skills of the Indonesians, as well as their influence and ability to make agreements with various parties will contribute to the summit’s success," he concluded.
