16 Nov 2018 12:41

Medvedev-Pence meeting at APEC summit not planned, but contacts with U.S. possible on sidelines of event - Prikhodko

MOSCOW. Nov 16 (Interfax) - The United States has not requested a one-on-one meeting between Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and neither has Russia, First Deputy Chief of the Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko told reporters in Moscow when asked whether a Medvedev-Pence meeting would be possible during this event.

"As for the prospects of holding a separate meeting between Medvedev and U.S. Vice President Pence during the APEC summit, such contacts, as a rule, are agreed on in advance. No such request has been received from the American side. We didn't have such a requirement, either," Prikhodko said.

However, Russia is not avoiding contacts and wants dialogue with the U.S., he said.

Discussing Medvedev's planned bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, Prikhodko said that the premier will meet with Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill to "exchange opinions on ways to intensify trade and economic cooperation, especially in the fuel and energy sector" and discuss humanitarian interaction, including in light of the historical legacy of Russian explorer and ethnographer Nikolai Miklukho-Maklai, he said.

"We believe that contacts with other foreign partners on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Port Moresby, including with American ones, are quite possible, because they will be participating in joint events," Prikhodko said in response to a question from Interfax.