Putin hosts leaders of Southeast Asian nations, seeking to boost their business ties

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin hosted leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday as Russia seeks to bolster business and other ties with the nations of the regional bloc.The two-day meeting, being held in Kazan, is set to consider ways to expand Russia’s “strategic partnership” with ASEAN nations that include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam, according to Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov.The regional bloc has maintained relations with Moscow as a “dialogue partner” and engaged Russian officials in annual top-level meetings, he said. The summit in Kazan, on the Volga River, marks the 35th anniversary of Russia-ASEAN relations.In a message greeting participants in a business forum held on the sidelines of the summit, Putin said he was confident that it will “create new opportunities for expanding mutually beneficial trade, investment, and industrial cooperation, w