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Summary Putin promises Asia and Pacific leaders they could count on Russia as a reliable energy source.
Russia is boosting its exports of oil and gas to Asia after years of focusing almost entirely on supplying Europe.Moscow also has ambitious plans to develop its railroads, roads, seaports and airports in the east of the country with the aim of providing a reliable transportation link between Asia and Europe.The first and main thing were going to do is develop transport infrastructure, Putin told regional business leaders.He played up Russias common economic space with neighbors Kazakhstan and Belarus as opening a direct route to Europe for business in the Pacific region.Faltering vital signs in China and elsewhere make pushing ahead with more and freer trade an urgent priority for the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, whose leaders are gathered in the Russian Far East port of Vladivostok for their annual summit.APEC aims to foster growth by dismantling barriers and bottlenecks that slow trade and business, while nurturing closer economic ties.Given its status as an organization governed by consensus, APEC is not known for major policy breakthroughs. Election-year politics and territorial spats make this year particularly challenging.From the Kuril islands to the northeast of Vladivostok all the way to the Spratlys in the South China Sea, various neighbors are squabbling over territories at a time when they most need to be focused on promoting growth.
