Putin in Phuket? Thai PM invites Russian president for state visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the invitation but a date has yet to be set, the Thai government said. He also plans to visit Vietnam
Thailand and Vietnam are not state parties to the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest earlier this year

Thailand

Agence France-Presse

Published: 3:33pm, 18 Oct 2023

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Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has invited Vladimir Putin for an official visit next year, he said in Beijing on Wednesday. The Russian president is also planning to visit Vietnam.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown Putin into international isolation, leaving him with few allies.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged deportations of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

President Putin likes Phuket, I understand he travels often

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin

Thailand – which, like Vietnam, is not a state party to the ICC Rome Statute – opted to maintain cooperation with Russia.

Srettha and Putin met on the sidelines of China’s Belt and Road Forum on Tuesday night and discussed boosting trade and cultural ties.

“I invited him to visit Thailand next year,” Srettha said on Wednesday.

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“President Putin likes Phuket, I understand he travels often,” the Thai prime minister said, referring to a Thai resort island.

According to a Thai government statement, Putin has accepted the invitation, but a date has yet to be set.

During the meeting with Srettha, Putin lamented a decline in bilateral trade due to a “turbulent international situation”, according to the TASS Russian news agency.

More than a million Russians visited tourism-dependent Thailand this year.

Russian tourists sit on a beach in Phuket. More than a million Russian have visited Thailand so far this year. photo: Reuters

Thailand recently made changes to its visa arrangements to allow Russians to visit the kingdom for up to three months – an increase from 30 days.

Thailand joined China and India in abstaining at a UN General Assembly vote last year to condemn Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine.

Putin has also accepted an invitation from Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong to visit “soon”, according to a post on a Vietnamese government website.

Vietnam has always considered Russia one of its most important partners, Thuong said in a statement, adding Hanoi was looking to enhance its “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Russia.

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The leaders met during the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing and Putin also invited his Vietnamese counterpart to visit Russia at an appropriate time, according to the statement.

A representative of Russia’s embassy in Hanoi was not immediately available for comment.

The visits would follow President Joe Biden’s trip to Hanoi in September, during which Vietnam formally upgraded ties with the US to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam’s highest diplomatic relationship level and one previously reserved for China, Russia, India and South Korea.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg