The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not exclude Russia in its upcoming Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) as the regional bloc intends to provide a platform for discussion among conflicting and warring parties.
This was according to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) ASEAN Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu, who said that the ASEAN "is distinct in the sense that it provides a forum for preventive diplomacy for peaceful management of disputes and tensions."
In a press conference held on Thursday, July 28, ahead of the 55th ASEAN meeting, Espiritu bared that "there have been moves" even from the very start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict among the external partners or countries outside of the ASEAN to exclude Russia from many meetings, workshops and fora.
However, the regional bloc did not oblige because "this is nothing about ASEAN."
"Probably you can do that in other international bodies whose rules and regulations, and other parameters and terms of reference provide for such exclusion," Espiritu said, citing as example the Human Rights Council.
The official warned that doing so "could be disastrous" for the ASEAN, as this could disrupt its processes.
“We want this distinction to be respected and for ASEAN centrality to be respected,” he said.
“So we said no one will be excluded, no process will be disrupted. Everyone is welcome to attend ASEAN meetings,” Espiritu added, noting that there are just “some modifications” in terms of representations during the meeting.