Malaysia’s status as a newly accepted partner country in the Brics alliance, formalised at its most recent summit in Kazan, Russia last month, will not deter Ukraine from pursuing trade and investment deals with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.

Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Ukraine Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka cited the Asean platform, with Malaysia as the upcoming chair, as a more “substantive platform” for international cooperation.

“I think that Brics itself is a platform that has no future while Russia is there.

“Of course, it is advertised as something that has some...