Interview with the Director of the Economic Cooperation Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry D.A. Birichevsky to the TASS news agency (November 14, 2026).
Main points:
The Chinese partners, who chair APEC this year, have already done a lot of work. 11 sectoral ministerial meetings and a large number of related events were held. In this sense, the summit will be the culmination of their efforts. It will be special for us too. For the first time since 2017, the Russian delegation will be personally led by President V.V. Putin.
Our main task is to consolidate the Russian "clock" in APEC in 2035 in the Shenzhen Declaration. As you know, the head of state approved the proposal in March this year. China and Vietnam have already officially spoken in favor of Russia, and we feel the support of the overwhelming majority of the forum members.
The EU's initiative to introduce a total ban on the import of domestic pipeline gas and LNG is in line with the political sanctions policy of recent years, aimed at the economic isolation of Russia. Such self-bans and other restrictive measures directly harm the initiators of various types of restrictions.
Russia is one of the main participants in the global energy market, a reliable and responsible supplier of natural gas. Our country is in first place in the world in natural gas reserves and in second place in its production. Is it possible to insulate such a large producer against the increasing consumption of this energy resource? I think the question is rhetorical.
In recent years, the Russian Federation has managed to quickly and efficiently divert the main streams of its supplies to other friendly countries - rapidly developing countries that require more and more energy resources.