Russia’s Singapore envoy says image in Asia remains ‘snow-white’, Moscow has ‘no regrets’ after Ukraine invasion

Russia’s Singapore envoy Nikolay Kudashev said Russia had ‘nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing to regret’ following the invasion of Ukraine

He pointed out that few Asian nations had sanctioned Putin’s government and warned of the consequences of isolating one of world’s biggest powers

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Singapore is among the few Asian economies that have levied some form of economic sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine invasion. File photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:00am, 1 Aug 2022Updated: 10:26am, 1 Aug 2022

Russia has maintained a “snow-white” image in Asia and has long pushed for a “simple” foreign policy that benefited the region unlike those advocated by the West, Russia’s envoy to Singapore said, as he warned of the dangers of isolating Moscow.

Nikolay Kudashev said an illustration of this strong standing was how only a handful of countries in Asia – as well as in Latin America and Africa – have joined their Western counterparts in imposing sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February.

“The overwhelming majority of the world’s countries do not want to live as if the colonial times are back. The vast majority of states want to be independent, want to rely on their own traditions, to rely on their own history and their old friends,” he said.

“As far as our image is concerned, we’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing to regret. To all those with a sense of good and reason, Russia’s image remains snow-white and untouchable for slander and defamation,” the ambassador told This Week In Asia in an interview.

As the war in Ukraine stretches into its fifth month with both sides suffering losses, Western leaders and their allies have rallied for Asia to adopt a harsher stance against Russia’s actions.

But most countries in the region have remained relatively cautious in their protest, for fear of retaliation from Moscow, with whom many have complex trade and security relations. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are among the few Asian economies that have levied some form of economic sanctions on Russia.

Nikolay Kudashev, Russia’s envoy to Singapore, said that Russia’s policies for the Asia-Pacific region were “inclusive and free from confrontation”. Photo: Russian Embassy in Singapore

Kudashev said the West was pushing for a future “under the brand of a rules-based world order” but added that it was “a remake of the unipolar world where the US dominates everything”.

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