Russian officials will decide how deeply they participate in the APEC summit scheduled for November in San Francisco. This was stated by Moscow’s Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov in a statement circulated by the diplomatic mission via a telegram channel.
According to Antonov, the United States holds only a technical leadership role in the organization, which mainly involves preparing the event’s documentation and issuing invitations to prospective participants.
Antonov stressed that Russia retains the prerogative to determine the composition of its delegation and the level of representation at the summit.
The decision on who will attend and at what level will be guided by practical considerations, the diplomat noted. He also indicated that Washington must first extend an invitation to Moscow before any formal planning progresses.
On October 2, Matthew Miller, the head of the State Department press service, stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the upcoming forum. Antonov interpreted this remark as a signal from the American side.
A previous Moscow representative had said that Russia had not yet received an official invitation from the United States to the November APEC meeting. The diplomat claimed that the White House has been slow to respond and reluctant to fulfill its obligations.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, previously described the American approach to APEC as flawed.