Zelensky says Ukraine seeking to develop ties with Southeast Asia's major bloc.

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

President Volodymyr Zelensky told Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto on June 1 that Kyiv is interested in developing relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is seeking formal partner status with the union. Zelensky met with Subianto in Singapore, where he had arrived earlier in the day for the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference and held meetings with high-ranking foreign officials. Security assistance for Ukraine is one of the key issues discussed at this year's conference, which is organized annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), an independent think tank.

"We look forward to Indonesia's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Zelensky said. Zelensky's office said the two discussed Ukraine's peace formula, introduced at the G20 Summit in Indonesia in 2022. The Ukrainian president said he hopes for Indonesia's participation in the global peace summit at the highest level.

The summit will be held on June 15 and 16 in Switzerland, with some 100 nations and organizations confirming their attendance. Russia was not invited to join the conference, and China has also signaled it would not attend. Zelensky also said that despite Russia's attempts to obstruct civilian navigation in the Black Sea, Ukraine is ready to increase agricultural exports to Indonesia.

The ASEAN trading bloc is one of the largest and most active economic regions in the world. The 10-member regional block is regarded as the third-largest economy in Asia and the fifth-largest in the world.

Opinion: Putin's China visit was another battle in Russia's war of economic endurance Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a clear signal to the West last week: China stands firmly behind Russia.

Putin made his first foreign trip since his inauguration to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping on May 16.

The visit came after a cabinet reshuffle in Russia the week prior,