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Russia-ASEAN summit 2016

ASEAN countries not pressured not to attend summit in Sochi — Laos PM

The Russia-ASEAN summit is underway in Sochi and has become the biggest international event in Russia in 2016

Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith Alexei Druzhinin/Russian presidential press service/TASS

Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian presidential press service/TASS

SOCHI, May 20. /TASS/. Nobody has pressured ASEAN countries in order to get them to refuse from participating at the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith told a news conference on Friday following the Russia-ASEAN summit.

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"We have not been pressured by any third party not to have this summit being held," he said, adding that cooperation with Russia was of much importance for Laos and the other ASEAN states.

Thongloun Sisoulith is confident that the ASEAN member-states have shared the same opinion that the summit should be held.

The Russia-ASEAN summit is underway in Sochi and has become the biggest international event in Russia in 2016. The summit is held under the slogan "Towards Strategic Partnership for the Sake of the Common Good."

The summit adopted a declaration that would lay the basis for an action plan of Russia-ASEAN cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres, as well as in the sphere of security.

Russia has been a dialog partner of ASEAN since July 1996. Similar partnership summits are normally held on the territory of member-states and the choice of Sochi as venue for the Russia-ASEAN summit on the partnership’s 20th anniversary is symbolic.

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Foreign policy Russia-ASEAN summit 2016

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