RIA-Signals US Wants 'Behind The Scenes' Dialogue At APEC

Russia's state-run RIA reportingthat according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Signals have been received from the US to conduct a 'behind the scenes' dialogue with Russia at the APEC events in San Francisco." The claims come a day after White House National Security Council spox John Kirby stated, in response to a question regarding the prospect of US-Russia talks at APEC, that "Their Deputy Prime Minister is representing them. And we look forward to having them as part of this larger economic framework and discussion."

• The US has previously stated that it wants to be 'good hosts' for the APEC summit. AFP: "Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk will represent Russia at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. "He's being treated as the head of delegation, and he'll have the opportunity to participate fully in the week's events," Matt Murray, the State Department official in charge of APEC, told AFP."
• The prospect of any notable US-Russia breakthrough at the APEC summit is slim. The primary focus for Washington is today's talks between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. It is also the case that APEC is a summit focused on economic and trade issues, rather than security, potentially limiting the scope of any sideline US-Russia dialogue.