Russia’s newly appointed ambassador to Singapore, Nikolay Kudashev, said Singapore should take steps to normalise relations with Russia following its decision to impose sanctions against Kremlin-linked business circles.
In an interview with Yahoo News, Kudashev said that Russia has not initiated any sanctions against Singapore and therefore it is not up to the Kremlin to decide on this issue.
“It is up to the Singapore side to decide and normalise things. We cannot be held responsible for sanctions against us,” said the 64-year-old career diplomat, who joined the diplomatic service in 1981.
The diplomat’s comments come after Singapore joined a number of countries that have imposed wide-ranging sanctions against Russia after it launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Announcing the “special military operation” on the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was to “protect the population subjected to harassment, genocide by the Kiev regime” and to “demilitarise and disarm Ukraine”: “We cannot accept an unjustified attack by one country on another, claiming that its independence was the result of ‘historical mistakes and crazy decisions’. Such a justification would violate the internationally recognised legitimacy and territorial integrity of many countries, including Singapore.”
Kudashev said much has been achieved between Singapore and Russia over the years on political, economic, humanitarian and other fronts.
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