By Alexandra Alper

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will discuss Russia’s invasion in Ukraine with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from Singapore on Tuesday at the White House. This was a top administration official stated.

The White House stated that Lee will meet later with U.S. vice president Kamala Harris and will be joined by Biden at an Oval Office meeting, before they make a joint declaration.

The official spoke on a conference call and said that the United States is very happy with Singapore’s decision not to place sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in October.

Russia refers to its actions in Ukraine as a “special operations” and says they aren’t intended to occupy any territory. It claims that its actions there were meant to degrade the military capabilities of its south neighbour, capture dangerous nationalists, and destroy their military capability.

Official: “We are extremely happy with Singapore’s achievements and I believe that it is important to keep looking for opportunities to increase our cooperation in this area.”

Biden was scheduled to be the host leader of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN), of whom Singapore is a member. However, the White House announced that not all of its leaders were able to make it on the dates of March 28/29.

Official reiterated that the White House was working on rescheduling the event. The official stated that “we believe the clock’s ticking” and said the White House is working to reschedule the event. He also noted there would be announcements during Lee’s visit, but declined to provide details.

Lee’s visit comes shortly after U.S. Vice President Harris and U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Singapore last year. Biden spoke last with Lee in Rome during the Group of Twenty summit.

Singapore has long been a major financial and trade center. The U.S. wants to know more details about plans for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF as Washington calls it.

In February, the Biden administration unveiled an Indo-Pacific strategy. It pledged to increase diplomatic and security support to the region in order to combat what it considers China’s attempt to establish a sphere of influence in the region.

While the IPEF was to be launched in early 2011, the details of the plan were not revealed. Furthermore, the Administration has been unwilling to grant the more market access Asian countries need, citing this as an attack on American jobs.

The official stated Monday that the framework would be discussed during Lee’s visit. However, he provided little information. The official answered a question about market access and said that the Biden administration is “looking at ways to do it using existing frameworks, rather than looking for new access to market.”