VIENTIANE /Laos/, October 11. /TASS/. Russia is grateful to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states for upholding its central role in the region, despite the West’s attempts to divide its members, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following participation in the 19th East Asia Summit.

"We [Russia] firmly believe that ASEAN’s commitment to upholding its central role, particularly in the face of efforts by our Western colleagues to undermine it, requires significant political will. This resolve is evident among the ASEAN nations," he said.

The East Asia Summit is held annually in conjunction with ASEAN meetings. In 2005-2010, 16 countries were represented here: members of ASEAN+3 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia plus China, the Republic of Korea and Japan). Australia, India and New Zealand also joined them. Since 2011, Russia and the United States have participated in the East Asia Summits (EAS).