MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit the Philippines on August 6-8 to participate in a number of events organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov will take part in the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) events, [including] ASEAN-Russia ministerial meeting, East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers' meeting and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) session on security," the statement read.
Commenting on the upcoming visit, the ministry said that Russia would focus on the reinforcing its positions in the Asia-Pacific region, while promoting Russian approaches to the formation of a balanced regional security structure and the Greater Eurasian Partnership.
In addition, Russia and ASEAN are already working on extending Russia's support to the strengthening of the law enforcement personnel of the ASEAN nations, with a separate counter-drugs cooperation channel set up.
On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that apart from other activities, Lavrov will hold a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss Russia-US relations on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
The 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings take place in the Philippine capital of Manila on August 2-8, bringing together the heads of foreign offices from 27 states.
ASEAN was established by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in 1967. Since then, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia have joined the organization. The association strives to enhance regional cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and other spheres, as well as promote peace and security.
