Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine signs peace treaty with ASEAN

Ukraine is looking to shore up more support internationally and further isolate Russia from the world stage as the war moves into its ninth month. This week, Kyiv signed a peace treaty with countries in the Southeast Asia regional grouping.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba signed the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia Thursday during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations annual summit in Cambodia. The TAC agreement commits its signatories to “mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations” and is seen as mostly symbolic.

Even with an invitation to be part of the treaty with ASEAN, the bloc’s 10 members failed to reach an agreement on allowing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address the summit by video. Zelenskyy has previously addressed summits and parliaments all over the world since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in February, as well as the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council, the British House of Commons, and the US Congress.

While ASEAN has condemned the ongoing war, it has stopped short in assigning blame to Russia. Two of the bloc’s members, Vietnam and Laos, abstained from voting on a UNGA resolution condemning Russia for the war due to their ties with Moscow. Myanmar’s junta government has refused to send a non-political representative to ASEAN events as the generals are barred from participating in the bloc’s meetings.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen – who currently chairs the bloc, has expressed support for Ukraine. Hun Sen also pledged support for Ukraine to become a “Sectoral Dialogue Partner” with ASEAN, a step toward the “Full Dialogue Partnership” the group has with Russia, China, the United States, and others.

US President Joe Biden will be attending the ASEAN and East Asia summits in person.

Ukraine has been making advances in its counter-attack against Russia on the ground. According to top US general Mark Milley, Russia has suffered around 100,000 casualties since its invasion. Milley added that Ukraine has suffered around the same number of casualties as well.

Speaking at the Economic Club in New York, Milley was pressed on the potential for diplomacy in Ukraine. The top US general cited that the early refusal to negotiate during World War I resulted in more suffering and millions more casualties.

“So when there’s an opportunity to negotiate when peace can be achieved…seize the moment,” said Milley.