Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: EFE-EPA/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin willattend the 18-member East Asia Summit (EAS) slated for November in Singapore,according to a diplomatic source.
Putin's plan to attend the EAS was revealed in ameeting on August 2 between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and hiscounterparts from 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) in Singapore, the source said.
Kyodo News reported that Putin's attendance atan EAS meeting, if realised, would be the first by a Russian president. Sincejoining the group in 2011, Russia has usually been represented by its primeminister.
The source said all ASEAN countries welcomedPutin's plan and wished that he would make it.
An EAS meeting is held right after an ASEANleaders' meeting held every autumn. Its agenda includes not just economic butsecurity issues, such as those relating to the East Sea.
The EAS was founded in 2005 as a forum for dialogueon strategic and development issues among Asian-Pacific leaders. It comprises10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), along with Australia, China,India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, the Republic of Korea and the US. –VNA
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