Peskov explains Putin’s decision not to attend APEC Summit with “optimization of trips”

Dmitry Peskov, the Spokesperson for the Russian President, has confirmed the reports that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will be leading Russia’s delegation to APEC Summit instead of the president.

Talking to reporters on November 12, Peskov said the decision looks to optimize the trips of the president and prime minister.

“As the prime minister had additional contacts and visits to the region, the president adopted a decision to optimize the trips of the country’s top leadership so that the president and prime minister had not to travel to such long distances in the same period of time, with a difference of a couple of days,” Peskov explained.  He said part of the president’s visits in the Philippines will be replaced with telephone calls.

Dmitry Peskov disclaimed the statements that Medvedev will be leading Russia’s delegation to APEC instead of Putin allegedly because of his “warmer” relations with U.S. President Barack Obama.

As to Vladimir Putin’s participation in G20 Summit in Turkey on November 15-16, Peskov said the president’s visit program has been fully made up, including the bilateral meetings.  The Kremlin representative did not specify so far who of his foreign opposite numbers the Russian president plans to meet on the margins of the summit.