Putin on the birds: 'Only the weak ones didn't follow' me

Russia has been upgrading the 6,800 mile Trans-Siberian Highway  – which still exists largely in name only – between Vladivostok on the Pacific and St. Petersburg on the Baltic, so that it might eventually be open to heavy trucking. A couple of years ago Putin's predecessor Dmitry Medvedev put forward a plan to extend the Trans-Siberian Railroad through North Korea to Seoul, making direct rail links between Europe and the Far East viable for the first time. And the Kremlin has ordered creation of a special northern military force, and construction of a $30-billion port on the Arctic Ocean in anticipation of an ice-free Arctic sea route over the top of Siberia, that is expected to open up in coming years thanks to global warming.

"We suggest using our country's transit potential to diversify regional and global supply chains and to create new, shorter, more profitable routes that will link the Asia-Pacific and Europe across both the continental regions of Russia and through the North Sea route," Putin said.

Tensions with Europe over gas

Putin also slammed the European Union for trying to drive down the price of Russian gas, using non-market tactics "as if it were still Soviet times."

In fact, the European Commission is investigating Russia's state-owned natural gas behemoth, Gazprom, for a variety of alleged "anti-competitive" practices, including unfair pricing policies.

"Europe wants to maintain political influence, but in such a way that we pay for it a little," Putin told APEC.

The key message out of the APEC summit was that regional economies need to step up cooperation among themselves in order to preserve their own dynamic growth and buffer themselves against the winds of recession and financial volatility emanating from Europe. "The events in Europe are adversely affecting growth in the region," the final communique said. "In such circumstances, we are resolved to work collectively to support growth and foster financial stability, and restore confidence."

They also promised to lower tariffs on environmental goods, enhance regional "food security" – to protect against a feared surge in food prices next year – and step up measures to protect endangered animal species.

Putin meets Clinton

Meeting on the sidelines with Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was hopeful that Congress will soon repeal the cold war era Jackson-Vanik amendment, which stands in the way of full trade relations between Russia and the US and has long been a major political irritant as well.

But the inevitable discussion of yawning US-Russia differences over Syria do not seem to have gone well. Russia wants the US to support a transitional deal that might keep embattled Syrian leader Bashir al-Assad in power while a new government, including opposition figures, can be formed. The Russians claim that Ms. Clinton and other Western leaders agreed to this plan at a Geneva meeting in June, and want the US to back it at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

But Clinton told reporters in Vladivostok there was no point in promoting a toothless scheme that Mr. Assad could easily ignore.

"We have to be realistic. We haven't seen eye-to-eye on Syria," with the Russians, she said. "That may continue. And if it does continue then we will work with like-minded states to support the Syrian opposition to hasten the day when Assad falls."

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