Vladimir Putin gets diplomatic stage at belt and road gathering in Beijing
- Shunned by the West, Russian president goes on charm offensive as he meets leaders of Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia
- Forum also provides chance for rare meeting with a European Union leader, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
It was Putin’s second overseas trip since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest in March over the alleged war crime of illegally deporting Ukrainian children. He travelled to Kyrgyzstan earlier this month for a summit of former Soviet nations.
He met new Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Tuesday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, a tightly guarded compound in the west of Beijing where Xi usually hosts his foreign counterparts.
Thailand, one of Washington’s oldest allies in Asia, has not joined the West to condemn Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Noting that Russia’s trade with Thailand “decreased slightly last year amid the turbulence in international relations”, Putin said his country would “do our best to make our relations develop as intensively as possible and contribute to the development of our states”, according to the Kremlin.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Thavisin lauded the “more than 1 million Russian tourists” who travelled to Thailand. “Ready to invite Russia to consider increasing investment in Thailand. And invited Mr Putin to visit Thailand in order to strengthen our relationship,” he wrote.