Singapore Balances Ukraine Stance with Asean Ties, Experts Say

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s trip to Russia as part of an Asean delegation to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin was a pragmatic move that showed the city state could uphold its sanctions against Moscow while keeping diplomatic channels open, analysts said.

They said the approach reflected Singapore’s need to balance its principled stance on the Ukraine war with its responsibilities as next year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the region’s search for energy security.

Wong met Putin in Kazan for the first time on the sidelines of the Asean-Russia Commemorative Summit last week, marking the first high-level exchange between the two.

Singapore is the only Asean member to sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, strongly condemning Moscow’s actions on multiple occasions in parliament and the UN. In response, Russia blacklisted Singapore, placing it on its list of “unfriendly countries” in March 2022.

Last Friday, Wong said in a social media post that Singapore took its position “not because of alignment with any side, but because we believe the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected”.

Wong said his discussion with Putin underscored the value of dialogue and engagement, even when countries “do not see eye to eye on every issue”.