Nikolay Kudashev, the Russian Ambassador-designate to Singapore, criticized Singapore’s imposing of sanctions on Russia for their invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “mistake”.
Speaking to South China Morning Post, Kudashev said that Singapore’s decision was a mistake and a wrong one, and that it runs counter to the development of bilateral ties and the strengthening of regional cooperation.
He noted that Singapore was the only country in Southeast Asia to impose sanctions on Moscow, and added that they would have preferred to concentrate on “issues of primary importance for the region other than issues or topics which are comparatively far from the agenda of Asia”.
The government of Singapore has said that it had to stand up for the same principles on our sovereignty and independence, imposing controls on exports on items that can cause harm in Ukraine.
Kudashev also said that Singapore’s addition to Russia’s list of “unfriendly countries” sees the political relationship between the two being specially monitored, with economic deals only being allowed under “very severe supervision” by Moscow.
He also dismissed the United Nations General Assembly resolution that was backed by 141 countries, including Singapore, that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He said that “more than 50% of the global population voted against it”, pointing to China and India abstaining from voting (the two countries are the two most populated countries in the world).