Putin Plans To Conduct Talks With Chinese And US Leaders In Shanghai

While opening a traditional Kremlin meeting with government members on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he planned to conduct negotiations with George Bush, Jiang Zemin "and the leaders of a series of other countries which are strategic partners for Russia" during the forthcoming APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) summit in Shanghai. Putin also said that the APEC meeting would be "a serious event" for Russia.