Kingdom to stay neutral on Ukraine

US ‘must support’ stability in Asean

Foreign affairs officials are expected to reaffirm the kingdom’s neutral stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict during the 2nd Asean-US special summit later this month.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Information Department yesterday held a briefing to provide background information on the meeting’s agenda as well as respond to media queries regarding the summit and the global security issue.

When asked about how the kingdom will respond to the US when the conflict is brought up, the ministry said it will reaffirm its commitment to a peaceful resolution.

Chettaphan Maksamphan, director-general of American and Pacific South Pacific Affairs, said the US will use this summit to cover important global matters, including the conflict and sanctions against Russia.

However, Thailand is committed to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict and providing humanitarian assistance, he said.

“We are trying to use every summit, including this one, to reaffirm our stance that we respect land integrity and sovereignty and support a ceasefire and peaceful negotiation,” he said.

“Furthermore, we emphasise humanitarian assistance, which we are working on with both Ukrainian and Polish Red Cross.”

Usana Berananda, director-general of the ministry’s Asean Department, said that from an Asean perspective, the summit is crucial to improving the global security situation.

She said Asean wants to see the US playing a creative role in supporting the bloc’s attempts to achieve regional peace and stability.

“We also want to see the US supporting cooperation among every party because, during this time, every country is affected by the UkraineRussia conflict and other conflicts in various regions,” Ms Usana said.

“We are still suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic but every country wants to see a peaceful and cooperative environment in the region and the international community,” she added.

“Otherwise, we may not be able to dedicate our [resources] to recover from the pandemic.”

According to Reuters, United States President Joe Biden is due to host leaders of Asean at a summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday, and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is expected to attend.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month the summit was originally scheduled for March before it was postponed.