Sergey Lavrov arrives in Phuket. Phuket News

Sergey Lavrov arrives in Phuket

PHUKET: Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, arrived in Phuket last night (July 14).

Mr Lavrov landed at Phuket International Airport to be welcomed by a delegation that included Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan.

Official reports of Mr Lavrov's arrival mark that Mr Lavrov is expected to officiate the opening of the Russian consulate at Boat Lagoon in Koh Kaew. The consulate has been operating out of its offices at Boat Lagoon for several years.

No other information regarding Mr Lavrov's visit was provided.

Mr Lavrov has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. He is the longest-serving foreign minister since the Tsarist era, and has served longer than any foreign minister of the Soviet period.

Mr Lavrov's visit follows a marked increase in the number of Russians visiting Phuket as tourists and the number of Russians choosing to stay on the island.

According to the Ministry of Tourism & Sports, 740,840 Russian nationals visited Thailand from January through May this year.

According to Phuket Immigration, Russia provided 25,947 visitors arriving directly in Phuket last month, a decrease of 2.6% from 26,624 in May.

Russian arrivals in Phuket last month were second only to Chinese nationals, who saw 44,066 direct arrivals in June, an increase of 16.4% from 37,949 in May.

Mr Lavrov on Thursday appealed to Southeast Asian countries to work together to revive flagging trade with his country, using a forum in Jakarta to pitch the use of national currencies, rather than dollars, to evade Western sanctions, reports Nikkei Asia.

The sanctions, leveled after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, have led to a 4.4% drop in trade between Russia and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

A report by Reuters marked that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday (July 14) that Mr Lavrov had not been constructive during this week's meeting between top diplomats from major powers and their Southeast Asian counterparts in Jakarta.

Speaking after the Asean Regional Forum – which involved the foreign ministers of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and key strategic partners such as China, the US, India and Russia – Blinken said Lavrov used his interventions to attack Washington, said the report.

The meeting in Jakarta marked only the second time Blinken and Lavrov have been in the same room since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year. They last saw each other in New Delhi in March, on the sidelines of a G20 meeting, the Reuters report noted.