BEIJING, November 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will on Monday hold a few bilateral meetings with some world leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing, presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.
Ushakov said the meetings could focus on a wide range of issues — from bilateral agendas to investigation of the recent Malaysian Boeing crash in eastern Ukraine.
On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger airliner on flight MH17 from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Most passengers — 193 people — were Dutch nationals.
The Dutch Safety Board, which is leading the probe and coordinating the international team of investigators, said in its preliminary report published September 9 that “Flight MH17 with a Boeing 777-200 operated by Malaysia Airlines broke up in the air probably as the result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside.”
Asked whether a separate meeting of Putin and Obama is planned, Ushakov gave a negative answer. He added that the two leaders, however, have good chances to talk “on the go.”
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Both leaders will arrive at the summit. They will see each other anyway.”
Putin, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, has already held full-format talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. He has also met with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.