Bangkok: The host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Thailand said on Thursday that leaders should "rise above differences", after several summits in the region beset by geopolitical tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

The meeting of the 21-member bloc, which begins on Friday, is "taking place at a critical juncture" as the world faces a number of risks, according to Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

cancellation mindset, he said in a statement after a gathering of the bloc's foreign ministers ahead of the main summit. "Permits every negotiation and action, (and) makes any agreement impossibly difficult," he said.

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The statement continued, "APEC must overcome these obstacles this year and offer hope to the entire world."

According to Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in the pre-summit business event the topics of the meeting will be "new trade and investment stories ... the need to reconnect supply chains and travel and the global sustainability agenda".

Later in the day, Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to speak with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the APEC summit. According to the organisers, Xi was to address a business forum, but it was cancelled.

The main gathering also includes Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US Vice President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron, who is a special guest.

The Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, where countries unanimously adopted a statement condemning the war in Ukraine but acknowledged that some countries had different views, preceded the APEC meeting.

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The host nation, Indonesia, claimed that the Ukraine war was the most divisive topic.

At the weekend's East Asia summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cambodia, the war was also a major topic of discussion, as was the crisis in Myanmar, whose ruling generals were banned from attending. Because they did not comply with the peace process.

The junta in neighboring Myanmar announced Thursday, as leaders prepared for the APEC meeting, that it would release 5,774 political prisoners, including a Japanese film producer, a former British ambassador, an Australian economist and former adviser to ousted leader Aung San. Are included. , Sue's

Activists and opponents of the military welcomed the apology but cautioned the world against falling for the junta's ploy as they claimed it was using its subjects as pawns in negotiations.

At the G20 summit in Bali, tensions escalated when Chinese leader Xi personally criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over an alleged leak of their private meeting. This was a rare instance of Xi publicly expressing his displeasure.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is a member of the G20 and APEC. At APEC, he will be represented by First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov.