Russian ambassador: Singapore should focus on important issues such as COVID, not Ukraine

In a recent interview, the Russian ambassador to Singapore called the country’s critical stance against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, as well as the sanctions Singapore has imposed, a “mistake.”

Mr Nikolay Kudashev, Russia’s envoy, said that Asian countries should take care of issues of “primary importance” such as recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic instead of the ongoing conflict in Europe.

He also told the South China Morning Post in an article published on March 11 that the Asian nations with the highest populations, China and India, did not support the United Nations General Assembly resolution last week condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb 24.

In the two and a half weeks that have passed, around two million people have left Ukraine, and thousands have died as Russian and Ukrainian forces have exchanged fire. Russia has been bombing major cities in Ukraine, including areas where it pledged to maintain a humanitarian corridor, so people can evacuate.

Many countries, led by the United States, have imposed economic sanctions on Russia, including Singapore. It was also among the first countries to condemn Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.

But to Mr Kudashev, Singapore is taking the wrong track by imposing sanctions.

“We believe this decision to be a mistake, to be a wrong one, which runs counter to the development of bilateral ties [and] runs counter to strengthening regional co-operation.

We would prefer to concentrate on the issues of primary importance for the region other than issues or topics which are comparatively far from the agenda of Asia,” he told SCMP.

Mr Kudashev arrived last month in Singapore fresh from occupying the same post in India and has yet to submit his credentials to President Halimah Yacob.

He was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Singapore on Jan 12, 2022, and according to a Feb 6 tweet, spent some time in his youth in the city-state.

🇷🇺 Russian Ambassador-designate to Singapore N.Kudashev:

"I am delighted to arrive in Singapore, the city of my youth. I look forward to working together with Singapore partners to further strengthen bilateral political, trade, economic and cultural ties between our countries". pic.twitter.com/VulpJBZda9

— RusEmbassy Singapore (@RusEmbSG) February 6, 2022

He added that because of Singapore’s move to impose sanctions, the relationship between Russia and Singapore would be put under “special monitoring” and that only the economic deals under “very severe supervision” by Moscow would be allowed. /TISG

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