"Last year, representatives of Ukraine were invited to the ASEAN ministerial events in Cambodia because Ukraine was entering into the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia [TAC]. This year, several more countries are joining the Treaty, and their representatives have been invited to this year's events. Ukraine has not been invited to ministerial events this year," Berananda told Thai and foreign reporters during a briefing.
"In addition, the program of events also includes a bilateral post-ministerial conference of ASEAN-Russia, dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the strategic partnership between the Association and the Russian Federation, following which a separate joint document will be issued," the Thai official added.
"Countries not directly involved in the conflict, countries such as ASEAN member states, such as India, for example, and others, bring to multilateral events involving the parties between which conflicts arise their own view of the situation from the outside, and their concerns regarding the impact on their lives of the contradictions that have arisen between world powers," she stated.
"They talk first with the Russian side, for example, and then with the American side, and try to find common ground on which agreements are possible," Berananda explained.