Leaders from throughout the Asia-Pacific have called for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine and pledged to steer the region's economies toward sustainable growth as they wrapped up summit meetings.
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Host Thailand garnered a diplomatic coup on Saturday, bridging divisions among the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum by saying most members had condemned the war.
Russia is an APEC member, as is China, which generally has refrained from criticising Moscow.
The declaration issued by APEC leaders acknowledged differing views on the war and said the forum, which is devoted largely to promoting trade and closer economic ties, was not a venue for resolving such conflicts.
But it noted the war and other security issues "can have significant consequences for the global economy".
It said most members had strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it was causing immense human suffering and worsening inflation, supply chain troubles, food insecurity and financial risks.
The statement echoed the wording of a March 2 United Nations General Assembly resolution that "deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine".
A White House official said US Vice President Kamala Harris exchanged brief remarks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday before the final APEC meeting began, calling for both sides to keep lines of communication open.
The 21-member APEC forum's long-term mission is to promote closer economic ties but its summits are often sidetracked by more urgent issues.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha opened Saturday's meeting by urging the leaders to push ahead with APEC's agenda of promoting free trade in the Pacific region.
"We have to give priority to turning this plan into action," Prayuth said.
The summit wrapped up a flurry of leaders' meetings in Southeast Asian countries in the past week.
Much of the activity at such summits occurs on the sidelines and in the interludes before and after meetings begin.
The US Vice President and leaders of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea met on Friday to voice concerns about North Korea's launch earlier in the day of an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.
The summits have also given leaders a chance to hold face-to-face meetings - a rarity in the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At both APEC in Thailand and the G20 meeting in Indonesia, officials chose to agree to disagree about the war.
But in both Bangkok and Bali, countries that had refused to condemn the invasion refrained from blocking the release of statements harshly criticising Moscow.
Australian Associated Press