“Today, we would like to consider further steps to boost strategic partnership between Russia and ASEAN in accordance with the decision our leaders made at the Sochi summit in May 2016,” Russian news agency TASS reported him saying.

“We welcome the development of our relations with ASEAN in every area,” the Russian top diplomat added.

Singapore is hosting an ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting on Thursday, as well as the Russia-ASEAN, Japan-ASEAN and China-ASEAN ministerial meetings.

An East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers meeting involving the ten ASEAN member states, Russia, Australia, India, China, New Zealand, South Korea, the United States and Japan, will take place on Saturday.

A session of the ASEAN regional security forum is going to be held on the same day. The North Korean leader is expected to attend the event.