‘Best benefits’: Malaysia’s Anwar visits Russia as Asian leaders defy West over Putin

Anwar follows leaders from India, China, North Korea, Indonesia and Myanmar in meeting Putin since the start of the Ukraine war

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim arrives at the international airport in Vladivostok, Russia for a two-day visit in which he will meet Putin. Photo: AP

Published: 5:54pm, 4 Sep 2024

Russia and Malaysia will discuss collaboration in areas from aerospace to advanced technologies on Wednesday, as Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim becomes the latest Asian leader to shrug off Western efforts to cast Vladimir Putin as an international pariah.

Anwar is on a two-day visit to Russia, where he will meet Putin on Wednesday evening and brief media on Thursday, according to his office. The meeting allow talks on a broad range of topics, from agriculture and food security to trade and investment, Malaysia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“This visit will no doubt bring the best benefits to Malaysia, especially in strengthening cooperation as well as two-way ties between Malaysia and Russia,” Anwar wrote on X at the start of his two-day visit to the federation.

Anwar follows in the footsteps of India’s Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Myanmar army general Min Aung Hlaing in meeting with Putin since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. That shows many Asian leaders have been unmoved by the West’s condemnation of Putin and his charges for alleged war crimes.

Earlier this week, Putin agreed to boost economic ties in a visit to Mongolia, which was criticised by Ukraine for not executing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for the Russian leader. And in July, Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto, visiting in his capacity as defence minister, described Russia as a “real friend” when he met Putin in Moscow.

Washington has been critical of nations like Vietnam that have played host to Putin since it attacked Ukraine, with the US embassy in Hanoi saying earlier this year “no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalise his atrocities”.