The Russian embassy in Singapore has lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for attending the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in the city state over the weekend and urged Asean countries against joining a coming peace summit.
Zelensky made a surprise stop at the forum, calling on Asian countries to join Swiss-led peace talks on June 15 and 16 and marking his second trip to the region since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
In a Facebook post on Sunday on its official page expressing outrage, the Russian embassy accused Zelensky of attempting a “last resort to persuade the Global South” to join the Switzerland summit, which it called “bizarre”.
“We hope that the millennia-old wisdom currently enshrined in the Asean-led architecture will prevail and help Asean member states make the right choice in support of a new emerging multilateral world order,” it said on the same day Zelensky spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
The peace conference is being hosted by Switzerland at the request of Zelensky. Switzerland has invited 160 countries, and according to Zelensky, more than 100 governments have accepted. Russia is reportedly not invited.
On Wednesday, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced that Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sim Ann would be his representative at the summit.
“I had a good conversation with Swiss President Viola Amherd this evening and conveyed to President Amherd that I have appointed Senior Minister of State Sim Ann as my Special Envoy to attend the Summit,” said Wong, who took over as Singapore’s leader on May 15 from current Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Wong added that he and Amherd also reaffirmed the friendly relations between the two countries and underlined the importance of working together to uphold the principles of the UN Charter.
Singapore was among the countries to announce sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Four days after the start of the war, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Parliament that Singapore would impose weapons-related export controls and financial sanctions against Russia.
The city-state also issued statements to condemn the Russian invasion and voted for a resolution in the UN General Assembly against Moscow’s actions.
02:29
China urged to help end Ukraine war by President Volodymyr Zelensky at Shangri-La Dialogue
China urged to help end Ukraine war by President Volodymyr Zelensky at Shangri-La Dialogue
Other Asean countries which have confirmed their attendance include the Philippines and Thailand. Indonesia has been invited but has yet to indicate if it will be attending.
Reuters reported last Saturday that the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it would not attend the peace conference because it did not meet its expectations, which include both Russia and Ukraine taking part.
On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign-Vice Minister Sun Weidong and Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha met in Beijing, days after Zelensky criticised Beijing at the Shangri-La Dialogue for trying to stop other countries attending the talks in Switzerland.
Zelensky also claimed that China’s economic and technology flows to Russia were helping Moscow to wage war, and that Beijing had not responded to Kyiv’s requests for a meeting.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said Sybiha urged Beijing to send a delegation to the peace summit and “expressed its hope that the participation of the People’s Republic of China in the said event could become a good opportunity to make a practical contribution to the establishment of just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.
The United States will be represented by Vice President Kamala Harris, despite Zelensky openly calling on President Joe Biden to attend the summit. Biden will be attending a campaign fundraiser in California.
