Putin Courts Southeast Asia as Russia Seeks to Escape Isolation

President Vladimir Putin will host leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit in the Russian city of Kazan, an event Moscow is using to demonstrate that it is not diplomatically isolated, the South China Morning Post reported. The meeting, scheduled for June 17 and 18, offers Southeast Asia help with its energy needs and gives Russia a venue among non-Western partners.

The energy element is concrete. Several ASEAN members, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, have imported Russian crude or expressed interest in it after global fuel prices rose sharply following the strikes on Iran. For these economies, discounted Russian oil is an attractive protection against an unstable market, which gives Moscow influence it would otherwise lack.

The relationship does not favor Russia entirely, and analysts are divided over which side needs the other more. The agenda covers trade, investment, agriculture, digital technology and education, areas where Southeast Asian states want a range of partners rather than dependence on any single power. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow looks forward to welcoming all ASEAN heads of state, and named Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in particular, although his own government had not formally confirmed his attendance.

The summit fits a wider realignment in which Russia is reorganizing its commerce around partners beyond the scope of Western sanctions. Whether ASEAN treats Russia as a strategic partner or simply a convenient supplier of cheap energy is the question the meeting will begin to answer.