Ukraine vows to use ASEAN cooperation treaty to boost political matters

ANKARA (AA) – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pledged on Saturday to take advantage of opportunities to build relationships and promote political matters with the 10 ASEAN nations following the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

Speaking with reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, the Ukrainian top diplomat said: “We are glad that it is during Cambodia’s chairmanship of ASEAN that consensus was secured and this signing became reality. We take it as a message of support … a political message of support by ASEAN countries to Ukraine,” according to The Phnom Penh Post, an English-language newspaper published in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Kuleba arrived in Phnom Penh to meet with the leaders and top diplomats of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who are all in the capital for the 40th and 41st Summit and related summits.

On Thursday, Kuleba signed the TAC on behalf of Ukraine during his visit to Cambodia.

He also met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, with whom he discussed the latest developments in the region.

“The issue of Ukraine joining TAC has been on the agenda for some years, but finally, it's done. It brings our relations with ASEAN countries to a new level,” he said.

“We are meeting each other as colleagues, talking, explaining each other’s positions and perceptions of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, finding common ground, identifying spheres of mutual interest. So, the normal classic diplomacy stuff is happening,” Dmytro said.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid