Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the 18-member East Asia Summit (EAS) slated for November in Singapore, according to a diplomatic source.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: EFE-EPA/VNA)

Putin's plan to attend the EAS was revealed in a meeting on August 2 between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterparts from 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, the source said.

Kyodo News reported that Putin's attendance at an EAS meeting, if realised, would be the first by a Russian president. Since joining the group in 2011, Russia has usually been represented by its prime minister.

The source said all ASEAN countries welcomed Putin's plan and wished that he would make it.

An EAS meeting is held right after an ASEAN leaders' meeting held every autumn. Its agenda includes not just economic but security issues, such as those relating to the East Sea.

The EAS was founded in 2005 as a forum for dialogue on strategic and development issues among Asian-Pacific leaders. It comprises 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), along with Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, the Republic of Korea and the US.

 (Source: VNA)