Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk arrived in Lima this Thursday to represent the Kremlin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. “APEC is a non-politicized structure and we are trying to keep it that way,” declared the official, according to the TASS agency. During his visit, Overchuk, a close advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, will hold a meeting with the president of the Council of Ministers of Peru, Gustavo Adrianzén.
Due to the war in Ukraine, Overchuk’s trip took more than 26 hours, including stops in Morocco and Venezuela for aircraft refueling. Last year, Overchuk also represented Russia at the APEC summit, which was held in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will represent Russia at the upcoming G20 summit in Brazil. President Vladimir Putin last participated in an APEC summit in 2021, when the meeting was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His last in-person participation was in 2017, at the summit held in Vietnam. This year, Putin decided not to attend the G20 summit in Brazil due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
