"The destructive character of US actions in this part of the world is obvious," Lavrov told reporters at an East Asia Summit in Laos.

Asked about Japan's proposal for a NATO-style Asian pact, Lavrov said: "Ideas about creating military blocs always carry risks of confrontation that could escalate".

"As far as Japan is concerned, we are seriously concerned about its militarisation... The Japanese are obviously being pushed to such a course by the United States," he said.

Lavrov also said the US, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia had attempted to make the summit's final statement "deeply politicised" and it therefore "could not be adopted".

He said Western countries wanted to exploit their ties with ASEAN "above all against the interests of Russia and China".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken later said he heard "nothing new" from Lavrov as they attended the East Asia Summit.

Blinken said he had no direct contact in their rare encounter at the summit in Laos but that they did not leave during each other's closed-door remarks.

"I think it's safe to say that we heard each other. I didn't hear anything new, unfortunately, about the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine," Blinken said.

"I think country after country in the room, without speaking for them, made clear that this aggression needs to end," he said.

"It's striking that so many countries that are half a world away in the Indo-Pacific care deeply about what's going on in Ukraine, and the reason, again, is because they know that if any country is allowed to act with impunity and to commit acts of aggression, that's a signal to would-be aggressors everywhere," Blinken said.

Blinken also said on Friday there is deep concern across Asia about conflicts in the Middle East and the plight of people in Gaza.

Blinken was speaking at a press conference after the East Asia Summit in Laos.