Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visited Russia’s Kazan with a message about Asean centrality and a more urgent national problem behind it – keeping fuel supply secure as global energy uncertainties linger.

The two-day Asean-Russia Commemorative Summit has turned into a small but telling test of Washington’s influence in Southeast Asia, according to analysts, with Anwar and other regional leaders meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin even as Western governments seek to tighten pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The gathering in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan republic, from Wednesday to Thursday marked 35 years of ties between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Russia. It also showed that Russia still has diplomatic reach beyond China, India and the usual anti-Western forums.

For Southeast Asian leaders, the draw was more immediate: energy, fertiliser, technology and room to manoeuvre amid doubts about Washington’s commitment to Asean.

Speaking at the Russia-Asean Business Forum, Anwar said the presence of Asean leaders in Kazan proved the bloc’s willingness to engage Russia despite geopolitical pressure.

“We are meeting today too in a situation beset by geopolitical tensions,” Anwar told the audience on Wednesday. “The fact that my colleagues, the Asean leaders here, [are] willing to meet and engage Vladimir Putin is a good sign of our centrality and our preparedness to overcome these inherent prejudices and to focus on the development of our region and the international community.”

While Anwar did not name Washington or Europe, analysts said his remarks pointed to the widening gap between Western efforts to keep Russia diplomatically isolated and Asean’s preference for keeping doors open to Moscow, especially when energy security was at stake.