BANGKOK, Nov 1 Cambodia ready to provide platform for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on the sidelines of the leadership summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summit (EAS), which will be held in Phnom Penh on November 12 and 13, 2022, the online version of the Khmer Times newspaper reports on Tuesday, citing the Cambodian Foreign Ministry.
«As a host country, Cambodia is ready to provide a platform for holding a Russian-Ukrainian meeting in Phnom Penh, if both sides want to hold such a meeting,» Cham Sunri, spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, told Khmer Times.
«However, so far none of the parties has approached us with a request to organize such a meeting,» Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, adding that no bilateral ASEAN-Russia summit is scheduled to be held during the ASEAN Leadership Week this year. The previous bilateral leadership summit of the bloc of Southeast Asian countries and Russia was held in November 2021 via videoconference. At the same time, Cham Sunri recalled that during the November ASEAN events, the bloc’s bilateral summits with China, South Korea, India, Australia, Japan and the United States will be held, as well as the East Asia Summit, whose members are a number of ASEAN dialogue partners, including Russia, China and USA.
The Khmer Times also reports on a telephone conversation scheduled for Tuesday between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, in his capacity as ASEAN Chairman in 2022, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At press time, the newspaper does not say whether the conversation took place.
«Zelensky requested a telephone conversation with the ASEAN chairman,» Hun Sen, quoted by the newspaper, said in a public speech on Saturday, in which he also reminded listeners of his invitation to the ASEAN and EAC summits, sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Cambodian cabinet spokesman Phai Siphan spoke on Monday, saying that Cambodia would welcome the participation of both Russian and Ukrainian delegations in the summits. «We have no bias towards either Russia or Ukraine,» Khmer Times quoted him as saying.
The Ukrainian delegation was invited to Phnom Penh to enter into the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, one of the main documents of ASEAN and the dialogue partners of the bloc, which has been in force since 1976 and is currently signed by 49 countries, including Russia, the USA, China and other states of the world. The Treaty aims to promote eternal peace between the participating countries, their friendship and cooperation based on mutual respect, non-interference in each other's affairs and peaceful resolution of conflicts. The number of countries that have signed the treaty is constantly increasing: in August this year, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates entered into the treaty at the ASEAN Ministerial Week in Phnom Penh.
According to the Khmer Times, to sign the treaty and participation as guests in a number of summits scheduled for November 12 and 13, a Ukrainian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba will arrive in Phnom Penh.
ASEAN includes 10 countries of Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. The bloc's full-fledged dialogue partners are Australia, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, Great Britain and the USA. The members of the East Asia Summit are 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the USA.