US did not try to pressure Asean nations to distance themselves from Russia at White House summit, official says

Name: Moscow’s Victory Day parade prompts Putin to defend Russian invasion of Ukraine
Uploaded: 2022-05-17T10:29:46.000Z
Duration: 2 min 34 s
Description: Moscow’s Victory Day parade prompts Putin to defend Russian invasion of Ukraine

Special assistant to the US president Edgard Kagan says expanded US-Asean ties are ‘really critical’ to Washington’s efforts in the Pacific amid China’s rise

Joe Biden told last week’s event America wanted a ‘new era’ in relations and promised greater cooperation over the South China Sea

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman (left) and US President Joe Biden attend the US-Asean Special Summit to commemorate 45 years of US-Asean relations and strengthen Asean’s central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges. Photo: EPA-EFE

Amber Wang

Published: 6:29pm, 17 May 2022Updated: 6:55pm, 17 May 2022

The US has not tried to persuade Asean countries to distance themselves from Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official said on Tuesday during a briefing about the recently concluded US-Asean summit.

A statement issued after the summit did not mention Russia or the invasion, but said “we continue to reaffirm our respect for sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity” and called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine.

Some Asean nations have been reticent to condemn Vladimir Putin’s decision to start the war, while Indonesia, as host the Group of 20 summit later this year, refuses to exclude Putin from the gathering.

02:34

Moscow’s Victory Day parade prompts Putin to defend Russian invasion of Ukraine

On Tuesday Edgard Kagan, special assistant to the US president and senior director for East Asia and Oceania on the National Security Council, said US President Joe Biden had discussed the importance of having a strong international response regarding the Ukraine war with Asean leaders.

“I don’t think that there was a particular focus on trying to persuade countries to distance themselves [from Russia]. I think that there was, however, focus on making sure the countries understood the US perspective,” he said during the press call on Tuesday.

“I think that we recognise that every country in the region has shown different history. And some of them have closer ties to Russia,” he said.

Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary in the Department of State bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who was also on the call, said there was a “strong consensus” among participating countries in outlining principles regarding Ukraine.