Photo: MAZEN MAHDI / AFP / Getty Images
The East Asia Summit ended without a joint communiquéor due to discrepancies between the United States and Russia over the war in Ukraine.
At the meeting, held this Sunday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in parallel to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, confirmed the lack of consensus to publish a document after the meeting . “There was no agreement. The United States and its allies insist on (including) unacceptable language regarding the situation in Ukraine. Therefore, a statement from the presidency will be published,” Lavrov announced, at a press conference in reference to the alleged references that Washington sought to add to the document on the war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
The East Asia Summit has brought together ASEAN leaders with external partners such as the United States, China, Russia, India, Japan, Australia and the European Union, who attended as a guest.
The meeting brought together Lavrov in the same room, who attended in the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the US President, Joe Biden, the Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
In an atmosphere of division and behind closed doors, it was expected that
the meeting would be dominated by the war in Ukraine, the energy and food crisis and the rivalry between China and the US, among other matters.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose country is chairing this year’s
ASEAN, indicated before the meeting that it was aware of the divisions, but was also confident that agreements could be reached to build a “more peaceful, harmonious and prosperous” region. It may interest you:
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