East Asia Summit Ends Without Joint Statement Following Disagreement Between US and Russia

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (C) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers meeting during the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug. 5, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AFP via Getty Images)

The East Asia Summit in Cambodia concluded without a joint statement on Sunday, as Russia and the United States were unable to agree on the language of the statement, Bloomberg reported.

The summit, held concurrently with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cambodia, gathered leaders from ASEAN and the United States, China, Russia, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that no collective decisions were made because the United States and its allies have insisted on “absolutely unacceptable language regarding the situation in Ukraine.”

Lavrov also blamed the United States for dividing the 10-member ASEAN and accused NATO of expanding its activity in the Asia–Pacific region.

“There is a clear trend on the militarization of the region through coordination of efforts of local U.S. allies such Australia, New Zealand, and Japan with NATO enlargement,” he told reporters in Cambodia.

The White House reported that President Joe Biden had raised concerns about North Korea’s missile tests and condemned Russia’s “brutal and unjust war against Ukraine in the strongest terms.”

U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speak as they attend the East Asia Summit Gala dinner in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 12, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden said the United States will “compete vigorously“ with China and speak out about China’s human rights abuses while ”ensuring competition does not veer into conflict.” He reaffirmed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait.

The summit’s chair, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, said the meeting included some heated discussion, but the atmosphere wasn’t tense. He told reporters that “leaders talked in a mature way“ and that ”no one left.”

Biden flew to Indonesia after the conclusion of the ASEAN meetings to attend the Group of 20 (G–20) summit in Bali, where he is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time since assuming office.

The war in Ukraine and its economic fallout is expected to dominate discussions in Bali and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok, alongside climate commitments, food insecurity, and tensions over the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and North Korea.

Lavrov is representing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit and is expected to hear stinging rebukes from within the G–20 over the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.

Ukraine isn’t a G–20 member but has been invited by host Indonesia as an observer. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the meeting virtually.

Russia’s foreign ministry stated on Nov. 13 that the G–20 isn’t the forum to handle security issues and should instead focus on pressing global economic challenges.

Reuters contributed to this report.