MOSCOW, October 10 (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Laos’ capital Vientiane to take part in the East Asia Summit (EAS), which is scheduled to be held on October 11, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
According the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov also plans to hold a number of bilateral meetings with Asian partners.
Among permanent participants of EAS there are not only ASEAN countries, but also their dialogue partners including China, Russia and the United States.
The US delegation is led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who came to Laos to attend ASEAN events and the EAS instead of US President Joe Biden.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has not announced any possible contacts between Lavrov and Blinken in Vientiane. The US State Department noted that Ukraine is one of the geopolitical issues Blinken plans to discuss during the event.
The East Asia Summit is a platform for dialogue among Asia-Pacific leaders on a wide range of strategic political and economic issues, including the challenges of strengthening the regional security architecture. Meetings in this format are held annually in conjunction with high-level ASEAN events. Since 2011, the leaders of Russia and the United States have also been invited to the forum of heads of state of East and Southeast Asia.
