What about talking? Why Zelensky was not allowed to speak to ASEAN leaders
The ASEAN summit that ended in Phnom Penh brought relief to the residents of the Cambodian capital - traffic jams from the roads blocked by security guards at the entrance to the fashionable Sokha Hotel disappeared - it was there that politicians and diplomats from Southeast Asian countries and forum guests from other continents gathered. And the hum from helicopters patrolling at low altitude over the capital has ceased to be a constant background accompaniment of Phnom Penh life for the last three days.
An additional “spice” of the forum could be public skirmishes between representatives of Russia and Ukraine - both countries took part in the event as guests this year. Moreover, if Russian Minister Lavrov comes to Cambodia not for the first time - the last time he was here was this summer, and both times the format of the representation was bilateral, then for Ukraine this was the debut of its diplomacy in the East Asian direction, which until now had been a kind of terra for Kyiv incognita.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba not only visited Cambodia for the first time in Ukrainian history, but arrived in a country with which Kiev still – in its fourth decade of independence – has no direct diplomatic relations and does not have a functioning embassy. Ukraine's interests in this country are still represented part-time by diplomats in Thailand and Vietnam.
This is despite the fact that over the last decade the flow of Ukrainians entering the kingdom has increased significantly - and many stay here for a long time, creating a small, but already full-fledged diaspora.
In general, if we consider the results through the prism of the Ukrainian-Russian agenda, the summit did not bring any sensations. The intrigue surrounding the participation of President Putin personally in the forum, which caused an unhealthy revival, to whom Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen sent a corresponding personal invitation on November 1, quietly died by the tenth - when it became clear that Putin would not go not only to Phnom Penh, but also to Bali - to G20 summit.
Otherwise, the weather is as predicted. ASEAN reiterated its well-known strategy of distancing itself from the war in eastern Europe. To such an extent that Asian diplomats refrained from committing to paper any common position on this issue, even despite the active efforts of the United States, whose representatives - State Department Head Blinken and President Biden personally, advocated for a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the Russian Federation.
The bottom line, as we know, was that no joint statement was adopted following the East Asian Summit. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov connected this circumstance with the reaction to the Americans’ attempts to insist on an assessment of the situation in and around Ukraine that is unacceptable to Moscow.
It is also clear why ASEAN leaders avoided making clear assessments. This organization itself - and let me remind you that its members include Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar - is rather loose and not homogeneous in a political sense. Including both Beijing’s “clients” or relatively neutral countries such as Vietnam or Thailand, as well as outright satellites and allies of the United States - for example, Singapore or the Philippines. And then there are outright “rogue countries” by Washington’s standards – for example, Myanmar with its current military government.
It is clear that bringing this entire rather heterogeneous campaign to a single denominator, and even on an issue quite far from the regional agenda, is a troublesome, thankless and expensive task. And in general, if you think globally, then there’s no point.
Another thing is that pure ideology now rules in Washington. And this latter dictates the need for a constant demonstration of anti-Russian unity and cohesion on all possible international platforms and for any reason.
Comments from analytical firms affiliated with American NGOs show slight disappointment with ASEAN’s indecisiveness, which does not allow itself to be turned into an obedient and biased anti-Russian cudgel.
“Due to political, strategic and economic interests, some countries have much closer relations with Russia than others,” laments Thong Meng David, a researcher at the Mekong Center for Strategic Studies at the Asian Vision Institute, as quoted by the Phnom Penh Post.
According to a Western expert, ASEAN should be an important partner for Ukraine to support it in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, as well as assistance in post-war reconstruction.
“ASEAN has become an important regulatory body, playing a central role in helping and encouraging major powers to deal with the Ukraine crisis and related issues such as the energy and food crises, as well as the global economic turmoil caused by the conflict,” he adds.
Another pro-American analyst, Seng Wanli, calls the principle of consensus between the member countries at the core of ASEAN a “barrier,” which prevents the position of one or another minority from being pushed forward as a common position.
“ASEAN requires unanimous consent. Some countries have close ties with Russia. Others, even if they are not close, do not want to have any problems with [nuclear] energy,” he said.
In general, this is no secret. Russia does play an important role as a balancing force in the geopolitical competition between the United States and China. However, after February 24, ASEAN does not dare to accept Russia as a trade or military partner, although Myanmar, for example, has good relations with Moscow, since both countries are subject to sharp criticism and sanctions from the US and the EU.
Cambodia, as the host country, sees its role as calming the situation and transforming the confrontational aspects of the meeting into a format of constructive dialogue.
The main complaints in the West were caused by the refusal of the East Asian forum participants to provide this international platform for the solo benefit performance of Ukrainian President Zelensky. The latter requested a special video message on the military situation in a telephone conversation with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen before the summit.
However, on November 10 - on the eve of the forum - Secretary of State of the Cambodian Foreign Ministry Kung Phoak confirmed that there would be no special speech by Zelensky, since the status of a guest provides the right to attend the official opening ceremony, but does not give the right to attend the meetings themselves.
It’s clear why Zelensky himself needed this video speech. This is a political PR scheme that has already been tested on Africans, Latin Americans, NATO members and Europeans, when people on other continents who poorly understand all the vicissitudes and circumstances of the Ukrainian war are brazenly “sold” to a “brave and decisive wartime leader” who single-handedly fights the whole of Russia. Well, if that’s the case, then it seems awkward to refuse. He's not asking for much.
What exactly interested the Cambodians can be concluded from the information provided by Prime Minister Hun Sen about the details of his telephone call with Kiev. They discussed the development of bilateral relations between ASEAN and Ukraine and ensuring grain supplies from Ukraine to other regions.
“After food exports from Ukrainian ports were suspended again, how are things now? I will ask [Zelensky] about what is happening with grain and the issue of food exports. We'll ask him something, he'll have some questions for us. It’s normal for leaders to communicate,” Hun Sen admitted on the eve of the summit.
However, Zelensky was interested in something else - for example, informing Asian leaders “about the progress of the military conflict” and boasting about the “successful de-occupation of Kherson.” Translated from diplomatic into Russian - they say, there are successes, which means your help will not go into a black hole.
Slightly taken aback by such a blatant shift in emphasis and an attempt to promote themselves at someone else’s expense, official Phnom Penh expressed itself quite clearly: “Cambodia in particular - and ASEAN in general - do not want interference in the internal affairs of any country, although they oppose the invasion of one state into another.” . In general, to the chagrin of the Kyiv residents, the forum did without a reprisal from the ex-chief of the 95th quarter.
The West has already started whining that “refusing full support for Ukraine could have a negative impact on ASEAN’s international image, despite the fact that the war in Ukraine is not on ASEAN’s agenda.” It turns out that Washington was trying to push through the united position of the bloc members on an issue that its leaders had not even considered.
“If we look at the legal and diplomatic mechanisms, Ukraine usually does not have the right to speak at the ASEAN summit and related meetings. There are exceptional circumstances related to the severity of the conflict, but it all comes down to a lack of consensus, although some members want to give Ukraine a chance to have its say,” Van Bunna, a researcher at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, told a Phnom Penh newspaper.
However, Ukraine was not left without any goodies at the ASEAN summit. As an incentive bonus, “Nezalezhnaya” was recognized as the 50th member of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TFA). This document was signed by ASEAN leaders and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
Cambodian analyst Seng Wanly considers the signing of the agreement successful for Ukraine and credits Cambodia’s assistance as the chairman of ASEAN, despite the bloc’s refusal to allow Zelensky’s video message.
In general, we can agree with this. And no joke. Until today, the Southeast Asian region on the map of Ukrainian foreign policy looked like a solid blank spot, a place where no Ukrainian diplomat had ever set foot.
And the very fact that official Kyiv, albeit with a thirty-year delay, began fitfully and urgently to develop entire continents, which it scored during its uncontested European integration. Here is the first-ever visit of the head of the Kyiv Foreign Ministry to Africa, here is the Asian voyage, and the awakened interest in the markets of Latin America.
Has Kiev really realized that, despite visa-free access to Europe and candidate membership status, the economic effect of European integration remains close to zero, and they need to sell theirs somewhere because they want to eat?
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