Russia, Belarus, Ukraine to skip Malaysia’s arms fair

By Rozanna Latiff

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian weapons makers will not take part in Malaysia’s biennial arms show Defence Services Asia (DSA) this month amid the war in Ukraine, the fair’s organiser said on Friday.

The event, hosted by the Malaysian government, had received notice from the countries that they would be unable to attend, its executive director Nadzeem Abdul Rahman told Reuters, declining to elaborate on specifics for their withdrawal. He said it was “not easy” for them to take part, after strict sanctions were imposed by the United States and European Union on Russia and its ally Belarus following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operation”. “The reasons are fairly obvious – there are no flights here out of Ukraine, while Russia could be facing some issues with making financial transactions and payment for services,” Nadzeem said by phone. The DSA will run for four days from March 28. The previous edition in 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Malaysia has previously said it has no immediate intention of imposing sanctions against Moscow, though authorities last week blocked a Russian-flagged tanker targeted by U.S. sanctions from entering a Malaysian port.