Russia To Deepen Energy Ties With ASEAN Countries
Datuk Seri Anwar (L) and Aleksey Overchuk (R), Oct. 27, 2025. X/ @bernamadotcom
October 27, 2025 Hour: 11:13 am
Moscow aims to strengthen economic cooperation with Southeast Asian nations amid new U.S. sanctions.
On Monday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk announced that his country will deepen energy cooperation and develop new logistics routes with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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The statement came in the context of new U.S. sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, following the ASEAN summit where Overchuk met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“The world’s economic center is shifting toward the ASEAN region, and we are investing in building closer ties between Russia and this area,” he said.
As an example, Overchuk pointed to relations between Russia and Malaysia, noting that trade between the two countries has grown this year after a slight decline in 2024.
“The challenges of today’s world are linked to the imposition of high tariffs and the creation of barriers in the form of duties aimed at restraining the development of certain countries. It is necessary to establish new supply chains and create new conditions for the development of our economies,” he said, noting that Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union also advocate for deeper cooperation with ASEAN countries.
“If we look at trade between Russia and ASEAN, last year it reached $23 billion, marking a 16 percent increase compared with 2023,” Overchuk said, pointing out that the interest of Southeast Asian nations in the Northern Sea Route, promoted by Russia as “the shortest route to Europe for their goods.”
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump approved sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, which account for half of the country’s exports and more than 5 percent of global oil trade.
Overchuk, who had previously warned Trump that Russia always finds ways to adapt to Western economic restrictions, emphasized that his country “has lived under sanctions for the past 120 years.”
“Sanctions have always existed, and we have no illusions that they will ever be lifted. But we have trade and economic relations, and we support and develop them,” he said, adding that “sanctions are like the weather: they are always there, and despite them, we must work and do what is necessary.”
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
