Thailand, one of Washington’s oldest allies in Asia, has not joined the West to condemn Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Noting that Russia’s trade with Thailand “decreased slightly last year amid the turbulence in international relations”, Putin said his country would “do our best to make our relations develop as intensively as possible and contribute to the development of our states”, according to the Kremlin.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Thavisin lauded the “more than 1 million Russian tourists” who travelled to Thailand. “Ready to invite Russia to consider increasing investment in Thailand. And invited Mr Putin to visit Thailand in order to strengthen our relationship,” he wrote.
Putin also met his Vietnamese counterpart Vo Van Thuong, who hosted US President Joe Biden in Hanoi last month, when the former Cold War foes announced an upgrade in bilateral ties.
According to the Kremlin, Putin told Thuong that relations between the two countries were “developing a traditional friendly atmosphere”. “Of course, we are also actively cooperating on the global stage,” he said.
Thuong, who took office in March, said Vietnam “always considers Russia one of its partners of top importance”, according to a readout from Hanoi.
“Vietnam always bears in mind the support and assistance offered by Russian people for the country’s course of national development and protection,” Thuong told Putin.
According to a post on the Vietnamese government website, Putin also accepted an invitation to visit the Southeast Asian country “soon”.
Like Thailand, Vietnam has taken a neutral stance over the war in Ukraine, citing its “bamboo diplomacy” policy of not taking sides.
Why Putin’s visit to China is a joint show of defiance towards US-led West
Why Putin’s visit to China is a joint show of defiance towards US-led West
The United States, European Union and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Putin and other government figures following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In Beijing on Tuesday, Putin also met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – a rare meeting for the Russian leader with the head of an EU member state since the start of the Ukraine war.
According to Russian media, they focused on Hungary’s access to Russian energy, with Orban telling Putin that Hungary “never wanted to confront Russia” and had always been “eager to expand contacts”.
Putin said that while opportunities for maintaining ties with some countries were “limited in the current geopolitical situation” it was satisfying that Russia had “managed to preserve and develop relations with many European countries, including Hungary”.
Putin also held informal talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday night before a welcome dinner at the Great Hall of the People hosted by Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan.
Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine just days after a trip to Beijing in February 2022, calling it a response to the expansion of Nato and provocations from Europe. Since then, the Russian leader has largely stayed home, aside from trips to Central Asia, Iran, Armenia and Belarus.
He has missed regional and global meetings including the Group of 20, though he did join the Brics summit in July via video link.
Putin travelled to Beijing with a high-level delegation that included two deputy prime ministers, the government chiefs in charge of finance, development of the Far East and the Arctic, the head of the central bank, and chief executives of the country’s energy giants, according to Russian news agency Tass.
