MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. It is impossible to say yet whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in person in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that is scheduled to be held in the United States in 2023, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.

"It is impossible to say anything for now," he said, when asked if the Russian leader would attend the event.

The White House confirmed on Thursday that the US would host the APEC summit next year.

In November 2021, one of the APEC member economies blocked the US proposal to host the 2023 summit. Washington declined to specify who had failed to join the consensus.

The 2022 APEC summit is scheduled to take place in Thailand. The country’s authorities hope that Putin will be able to attend the event in person.

APEC brings together 21 participants, including 12 founding states (Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the US, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea and Japan), as well as China (joined in 1991), Mexico and Papua New Guinea (1993), Chile (1994), and Russia, Vietnam and Peru (1998). In 1991, two Chinese territories, Hong Kong and Taiwan, also joined APEC. Given the specifics of the organization, which includes both states and territories, APEC members are traditionally referred to as "economies."