On Thursday, Alexander Mantytskiy, the Russian ambassador to Bangladesh, stressed the importance of several key principles in shaping the region's architecture.
These include the non-use of force or threat of force, non-interference in domestic affairs, adherence to international law, and the indivisibility of security.
The envoy believes that these principles should serve as the fundamental basis for any regional framework.
These include the non-use of force or threat of force, non-interference in domestic affairs, adherence to international law, and the indivisibility of security.
The envoy believes that these principles should serve as the fundamental basis for any regional framework.
Addressing a programme called "Talks with Ambassador" at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka, the diplomat stated, "Unfortunately, we have recently witnessed persistent attempts by extra-regional forces to reformat the existing order to fulfil their own narrow, selfish objectives."
According to the Russian ambassador, “the US-promoted idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific region has the potential to be destructive rather than unifying”.
When speaking about Washington's actual objectives in the Indo-Pacific, the ambassador asserted that they aimed to "weaken the multilateral principles of the regional system of interstate relations and divide the states of the region into 'interest groups' such as QUAD and AUKUS to establish its dominance."
Speaking of trade, the envoy stated that, after India, Bangladesh is Russia's second-largest trading partner in South Asia.
According to the ambassador, the volume of trade reached a record-breaking $2.97 billion in 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The envoy claimed that in 2022, Russia was subjected to "illegal" unilateral sanctions by Western nations what influenced its trade turnover with foreign partners.