Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov holds bilateral meetings in Laos

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in the Laotian capital Vientiane on Thursday where he held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Indonesia, Cambodia, Brunei and East Timor ahead of the ASEAN summit.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners, including the United States and China, gathered in Vientiane for the start of three days of talks expected to focus on the increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, tensions in the South China Sea and other regional issues.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will participate in the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which come as both Beijing and Washington are looking to expand their influence in the region.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also attend.