KAZAN — Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold a commemorative summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan, Russia, on June 17–18, 2024. The summit marks a continuation of ASEAN’s engagement with Moscow as a dialogue partner through annual top-level meetings.

The Russian Embassy in Manila confirmed the summit will take place in Kazan, a city on the Volga River. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said she and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone about the upcoming meeting. They discussed “the prospects of expanding Russia’s strategic partnership with ASEAN” ahead of the event.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to attend the summit, according to a Philippine government official. It remains uncertain whether Singapore’s leader will participate. Singapore condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and imposed sanctions following the February 24, 2022, attack. Most ASEAN members voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning the invasion. Vietnam and Laos abstained from that resolution.

ASEAN’s current coordination of relations with Russia falls to Myanmar, which holds the rotating role despite its political situation. Myanmar’s military leaders are barred from attending top-level ASEAN summits following the 2021 ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government. Lower-level career diplomats from Myanmar have, however, been permitted to represent the country at ASEAN meetings.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam. The group has maintained formal dialogue with Russia since 1996 and has deepened political and economic exchanges in recent years despite geopolitical tensions stemming from the war in Ukraine.

Russia and ASEAN first established dialogue relations in 1996. Annual summits between ASEAN and Russian leaders began in 2005. The 2024 meeting in Kazan will be the first full ASEAN-Russia summit since 2021, when leaders last gathered in person for such an event.