By Catherine Putz
Prime Minister Medvedev visited Southeast Asia to underscore that for Russia, Asia is more than just China.
Earlier this week Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev paid a visit to Vietnam and Thailand, meeting with his Southeast Asian counterparts and settling a handful of deals. But the trip’s biggest highlight wasn’t the trade deals, it was the messaging. Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the journal Russia in Global Affairs, is quoted in The Moscow Times as saying the trip was a statement that “for Russia, Asia is not just China.”
The message to the United States can be summed as this: Russia can pivot too. Last May, Russia signed a $400 billion energy deal with China in a move that made waves in the West. Following closely on the annexation of Crimea, Russian scholars categorized the China deal as a course correction from previous Russian Eurocentrism. From The Moscow Times article:
“This is a signal that Russia is starting to overhaul its policy, which until this time was limited by Western-centrism,” Lukyanov said. “The [Ukraine] crisis gave the push that was needed.”
Starting in Vietnam, Medvedev met with the country’s four key leaders: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, President Truong Tan Sang, Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung, and the Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. This year, the two countries are celebrating 65 years of diplomatic relations.
Read the full story at The Diplomat