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| Deputy Director of the ASEAN Centre at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) Dr. Valeria Vershinina (Photo: VNA) |
Moscow (VNA) – Russia praises Vietnam’s traditional “bridge” role in Southeast Asia and affirms that the two countries maintain close coordination at multilateral forums to drive the stable development of the Russia - ASEAN Strategic Partnership, said Deputy Director of the ASEAN Centre at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) Dr. Valeria Vershinina.
Talking with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Moscow on the occasion of the Russia – ASEAN Commemorative Summit marking the 35th anniversary of dialogue diplomatic ties in Russia’s Kazan city from June 17-19, Vershinina said Russia and Vietnam see eye-to-eye on preserving ASEAN’s centrality in the regional security architecture, toward a comprehensive and lasting security system in the Asia-Pacific.
Russia highly values Vietnam’s contributions to the ASEAN Community and its active role in pushing Russia – ASEAN ties forward, she said, adding that Moscow will consistently back Vietnam’s constructive initiatives to reinforce ASEAN’s unity, cohesion and flexible response to contemporary geopolitical challenges. As evidence of this commitment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a message to the third ASEAN Future Forum in Hanoi, describing it as a prestigious multilateral platform for in-depth discussions on key regional development issues.
Reflecting on the 35-year Russia - ASEAN partnership, the MGIMO scholar identified continuous and steady progress as the hallmark achievements. Even as foreign policy headwinds have stiffened and great power rivalry has intensified, both Russia and ASEAN have remained committed to sustaining dialogue. A key takeaway, she noted, is a mutual recognition of practical needs and complementarities, which has created new opportunities and widened the scope for strategic cooperation.
Amid profound global geopolitical shifts, Vershinina underscored Russia’s support for ASEAN’s central role in maintaining Asia-Pacific peace and stability. She said Russia is convinced that the bloc’s long-standing principles, including consensus, non-interference in internal affairs, respect for national sovereignty, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, will endure as core systemic values.
On the macro-cooperation agenda, she pointed to the long-running discussion of folding ASEAN into the Greater Eurasian Partnership and a broader Eurasian security architecture. While this remains a long-term process with objective complexities, she argued that access to new export markets could deliver sizable economic benefits for Southeast Asian firms.
She flagged considerable upside in expanding investment ties between ASEAN and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states, building new transport and logistics corridors, and tapping the EAEU’s integration know-how in customs procedures, e-declaration, and unified certification databases.
Turning to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Vershinina said that beyond established priorities such as security coordination, counterterrorism, and combating transnational crime, there remains considerable potential in joint work on transport infrastructure, energy security, and digital economy.
On the Kazan summit’s role in shaping a multipolar security and cooperation architecture in Southeast Asia, she noted that the choice of city itself embodies that vision. Kazan has lately become a stage for multipolar gatherings, including the BRICS Summit and Kazan Forum. With the ASEAN Secretary-General, EAEU representatives, and the SCO Secretariat all in attendance, the summit is set to debate blueprints for a multipolar security system before adopting its final joint documents./.
