Using the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in Lima as a springboard, the new Russian president is on a quest in Latin America.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev left Nov. 21 for Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference, which brings together the leaders of 21 countries that border the Pacific Ocean at a time when the global financial crisis is at its height and tensions are growing among many of the world’s most powerful countries.
APEC itself has devolved from its original design as a multilateral trade group to mainly that of a forum for a handful of world powers — principally the United States, Japan, China and Russia — to hold bilateral meetings. Each of the member countries typically gets some face time with other leaders, but it is typically the Big Four that are heavily watched — especially now. This is the first big summit since August, when Russia invaded Georgia, that will be attended by both Russian and U.S. leaders.