Russian President Vladimir Putin Arrives In Shanghai To Participate In APEC Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Shanghai to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. From the airport, the head of the Russian state went strait to his working residence in Shanghai, located in the five-star Xin Jinjiang hotel. The Russian delegation comprises Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Vladimir Rushailo, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, and Deputies to the Head of the Kremlin Administration Alexander Abramov and Sergei Prokhodko. According to RIA Novosti, Vladimir Putin's busy schedule in Shanghai envisions not only his participation in the summit activities, but also at least eight bilateral meetings with leaders of other states. The meetings will start Friday morning. Mr. Putin is scheduled to meet with the president of Indonesia and prime minister of Malaysia. In the afternoon, the Russian leader will come to the APEC Business Summit session. Its topic will be "Russia's Role in Asia-Pacific Region in 21st Century." A Kremlin representative told RIA Novosti that Vladimir Putin would address the session participants and answer their questions. Later in the afternoon, the head of the Russian state will hold meetings with presidents of South Korea and Mexico. Saturday, October 20, will start for Mr. Putin with meetings with Chinese Leader Jiang Zemin and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. At about 3 PM, Vladimir Putin, as well as other heads of state and government, will meet with participants of the APEC Business Consultative Council. At 7 PM, the summit participants will gather for a business dinner. On Sunday, October 21, leaders of the 21 counties and territories of the APEC will get together at 9 AM in the Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology and hold a meeting behind closed doors. No delegation members or assistants will be invited. It is expected that the meeting will last three hours. Discussions will later continue in the same format at a working lunch. The afternoon session will start at 2 PM and last until 4 PM. At this meeting, the leaders of APEC member-countries are to pass the declaration on the results of the summit. Thereafter, President Putin is scheduled to meet the Japanese prime minister. At about 6 PM, the meeting of the Russian leader with the U.S. president is going to start. According to a Kremlin representative who spoke with RIA Novosti, the meeting will be made up of two parts. At first, Presidents Putin and Bush will talk in "a small format" for about one hour and then, they will hold a joint press conference for about 30 minutes. Thereafter, the two presidents will spend another hour together in the format of a working dinner. It is expected that on Sunday Vladimir Putin will leave for Moscow, where he will arrive Monday morning.