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Asean
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Russia eyes Southeast Asian markets for economic boost as oil sanctions bite

Moscow is seeking to improve trade and connectivity, and says it can offer its experience in key areas including nuclear technology

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) and Alexei Overchuk, deputy prime minister of Russia, during a meeting as part of the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photo: dpa
Iman Muttaqin Yusof
Russia is looking to Southeast Asia for an economic boost after fresh sanctions from the United States hit its energy sector, with a senior minister saying Moscow sees “mutually beneficial” opportunities with Asean in nuclear technology, logistics and trade.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and East Asia summits in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk said Russia was deepening cooperation with countries such as Malaysia amid what he described as “constant” Western restrictions on its economy.
“Our country has been under sanctions probably for the last 125 years,” he told This Week in Asia after talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
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“Sanctions are like the climate – they’ve always existed. [But] we maintain and improve trade and economic relations, [and] we work to strengthen connectivity between regions and organisations like the Eurasian Economic Union and Asean.”

The Eurasian Economic Union is a Russia-led trade bloc that also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, aimed at creating a single market across parts of the former Soviet Union.

The logo of Russia’s energy giant Lukoil is seen at a petrol station in Sofia earlier in October. The US has slapped new sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil for refusing to scale back operations in Ukraine. Photo: AFP
The logo of Russia’s energy giant Lukoil is seen at a petrol station in Sofia earlier in October. The US has slapped new sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil for refusing to scale back operations in Ukraine. Photo: AFP

Russia’s push into Southeast Asia comes just days after Washington under President Donald Trump announced a new wave of sanctions on energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil for refusing to scale back operations in Ukraine.

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