Malaysia, Vietnam Oppose Anti-Russian Sanctions — Prime Minister

It was noted that the two countries "do not support such aggression against a sovereign state," underscoring that their "position is non-interference"

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob Oficina del primer ministro de Malasia via AP

SINGAPORE, March 22. /TASS/. Malaysia and Vietnam did not support the anti-Russian sanctions and agreed to remain neutral towards the crisis in Ukraine, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters Tuesday after his visit to Hanoi.

"We discussed the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and agreed that Malaysia and Vietnam will remain neutral on this issue," he said according to the Bernama news agency. "As for sanctions against Russia, we do not support them."

"The sides do not support unilateral sanctions; we recognize restrictions that could be imposed only by the UN Security Council," the Prime Minister underscored.

He noted that the two countries "do not support such aggression against a sovereign state," underscoring that their "position is non-interference."

"We expect a diplomatic resolution of the crisis in Ukraine," the Prime Minister added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.

When clarifying the developments unfolding, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure

After that, the US, the EU, the UK and a number of other states imposed sanctions against Russian citizens and companies.