Thai PM Srettha invites Vladimir Putin for official visit

[buksida]

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for an official visit next year, he said in Beijing on Wednesday.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has thrown Putin into international isolation, leaving him with few allies.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged deportations of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Thailand -- which is not a state party to the ICC Rome Statute -- opted to maintain cooperation with Russia.

Mr Srettha and Putin met on the sidelines of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum on Tuesday night and discussed boosting trade and cultural ties.

"I invited him to visit Thailand next year," Mr Srettha said Wednesday.

"President Putin likes Phuket, I understand he travels often," he said, referring to a Thai resort island.

According to a Thai government statement, Putin has accepted the invitation, but a date has yet to be set.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... cial-visit

Looks like the new govt is flipping the bird to the West. Kim Jong Un and Yahya Sinwar will be over here next.

[caller]

Thais sometimes seem blinkered to the rest of the World. He won't come. Too dangerous, he only visits fellow despots.

[buksida]

The Enquirer saying it how it is ...

Disappointment in Srettha’s Putin Phuket invitation
In the unfolding global panorama, the canvas of diplomacy is stained with exigencies often superseding moral imperatives. Yet, for emerging democracies, the latter should not be shrouded in realpolitik engagements. The recent diplomatic rendezvous of Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin with Russian President Vladimir Putin and subsequent engagements in Beijing delineates a concerning trajectory for a nation that has freshly emerged from the shadows of a military junta.

...

Prime Minister Srettha’s interactions in Beijing, albeit focused on bilateral and economic engagements, also delineated Thailand’s stance on a global stage. A stage where the spotlight isn’t merely on economic accords but on a nation’s commitment to human rights and democratic principles.

The disappointment emanates not from the diplomatic engagement per se, but from the missed opportunity to underscore Thailand’s commitment to human rights and democracy. In a world that’s becoming increasingly cognizant of human rights abuses, the silence or the absence of a firm stance against such abuses echoes louder than diplomatic platitudes.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/50952/disa ... nvitation/

They've also continued the junta's butt-kissing of the CCP and Chinese corporate conglomerates ...

[HHTel]

Thailand voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1 which condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and also voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/2, which sought to reaffirm the condemnation.

South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand are treaty allies of the United States, and strategy with those countries is tied to those mutual defense treaties.

Thailand and the United States share a commitment to the same values – democracy, human rights, labor rights, the rule of law, security, and prosperity.

Who would have thought!!!!

[buksida]

I don't think Srettha mentioned any of that while he was schmoozing up to Putin and Xi Jinping.

[caller]

Good article from Pravit Rojanaphruk, of KhaoSod English - this guy is always worth following - truly tearing into the new PM and what he calls his diplomatic faux pas at his meetings in China. Well worth a read.

'Srettha, a former real estate tycoon, can think and describe Thailand as whatever he likes as a private citizen, but as Thai prime minister, he must be aware that he carries the dignity of the whole nation with him and must not appear subservient to another foreign state'.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/ ... -in-china/

[HHTel]

I'd say that article is spot on!