East Asia Summit concludes without a joint statement

Phnom Penh, Nov 13 (EFE).- The East Asia summit held in Phnom Penh on Sunday concluded without a joint statement due to differences between the United States and Russia on the war in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed the absence of consensus on a joint statement after the meeting, which is being held in Cambodia alongside a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its main partners.

“There have been no collective decisions today as the United States and our Western colleagues insisted on unacceptable language with regard to the Ukraine situation and the situation around it,” Lavrov said at a press conference.

Apart from the ASEAN member states, the East Asia summit included China, the United States, Russia, India, Japan, Australia and the European Union, which attended as a guest.

The meeting brought together Lavrov, who attended in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s absence, US President Joe Biden, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and European Council President Charles Michel in the same room.

The closed-door meeting, held in a divisive atmosphere, was expected to be dominated by the Ukraine war, the energy and food crisis and the China-US rivalry, among other issues.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose country is chair of the ASEAN regional bloc this year, said ahead of the meeting that he was aware of the divisions but was confident that agreements could be reached to build a more peaceful, harmonious and prosperous region.

The ASEAN bloc was founded in 1967 and includes Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand. EFE

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