Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 10 July for a two-day visit centred on a cluster of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign-minister meetings hosted by Malaysia. Lavrov is scheduled to take part in the annual Russia–ASEAN ministerial session, the East Asia Summit foreign-ministers meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum on Security, which run through 11 July. The gatherings bring together the 10 ASEAN members and their dialogue partners to discuss regional security, economic cooperation and global flashpoints. On the sidelines of the opening day, Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, according to Russian and Chinese media reports. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the minister also plans several other bilateral talks and did not rule out a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is slated to attend the same forums as a dialogue partner. Lavrov’s trip underscores Moscow’s drive to deepen ties with Southeast Asian countries as it seeks to broaden diplomatic and economic options outside traditional Western spheres. ASEAN, chaired this year by Malaysia, represents a market of more than 600 million people and a combined economy exceeding US$3 trillion.