Assad has benefited from an outpouring of Arab support since devastating earthquakes hit his country and neighbouring Turkey earlier this month, helping him ease the diplomatic isolation he has faced over the conflict.

Sudan in January 2021 formally agreed to normalise relations with Israel in a quid pro quo for the US removing it from its list of 'state sponsors of terrorism', but ties were never formalised.

Iran has brutally cracked down on protests, Iranian drones have allegedly aided Russia's war in Ukraine and Tehran has accelerated its nuclear program, all of which raise the political price to giving Iran sanctions relief.

Penny Wong is expected to meet Wang Yi in Beijing on Wednesday, the first visit by an Australian minister since 2019 and the first formal talks in Beijing between the two nations' top diplomats since 2018.

Xi's remarks are an apparent reference to US efforts with regional allies and partners to blunt what they see as China's growing coercive economic and military influence.

The visit comes at a time when relations between Saudi Arabia and the US have been strained by a spat over oil supplies, and amid US concerns over growing cooperation between Gulf Arab states and China.

Malaysia's trade volume with Russia is nominal while its geopolitical interests differ from those of other Asean member states.

Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was conferred with the Turkish Order of the State, making him the first Asean head of state to be given the honour.

He says Japan is a 'proactive leader in peace'.

In his speech read out by minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, he hails the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Japan and the 40th anniversary of the Look East policy.

This is part of her official visit to four Asian countries and her maiden visit to Malaysia.

For Iran, also chafing under Western economic sanctions and at loggerheads with the US over Tehran's nuclear programme and a range of other issues, Putin's visit is timely.