Moscow opposes the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance at the expense of Southeast Asian countries and hopes that the region will preserve its own identity, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said at the XV Asian conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Malaysia.
‘These days, some Western countries are actively involved in various activities in the region, undermining the principles of inclusive co-operation and openness. Under the ‘open’ Pacific model, the US and its allies are pursuing a strategy of systematic containment. The aim is to isolate certain countries that they consider undesirable or inconvenient by excluding them from regional co-operation. They are trying to nullify not only the geographical but also the geopolitical identity of Asia,’ Andrei Rudenko said.
According to the diplomat, Russia does not want to see ‘further militarisation of the region’, as well as NATO expansion in this part of the planet.
He noted that Russia’s co-operation with regional partners ‘corresponds to the realities of today.’
‘We believe that Asia deserves a constructive approach, peace, stability and economic development in line with the goals of Shanghai cooperation, ASEAN and the three leading organisations of Eurasia, which have common goals,’ Rudenko added.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Western ideas of a new world order hypocrisy. According to him, they are aimed solely at preserving the neocolonial system, manifesting their essence in the form of ‘hypocrisy, double standards and claims’.
