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Putin to attend virtual meeting of APEC Leaders on July 16 — Kremlin

The online meeting will be chaired by New Zealand

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a virtual meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on July 16, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Wednesday.

"Yes," he said when asked if Putin would attend the virtual meeting of APEC Leaders scheduled for Friday.

The online meeting will be chaired by New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said earlier that it would be the first time that APEC leaders would hold an additional meeting. They will consider mitigating the spread of coronavirus through vaccination, drawing up new support measures for business and workers, and creating a more sustainable and inclusive economic environment.

The White House said earlier on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden would attend the online meeting of APEC Leaders on July 16.

APEC has 12 founding member states, namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States. Additional APEC members include China (joined in 1991), Mexico and Papua New Guinea (1993), Chile (1994), Russia, Vietnam and Peru (1998). Two Chinese territories - Hong Kong and Taiwan - also joined APEC in 1991. New Zealand assumed the APEC presidency in November 2020. Most APEC events are expected to be held as video conferences in 2021.

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Foreign policy Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov APEC

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