Russia hopes for good relations after US election

VLADIVOSTOK - Russia would like to maintain good relations with the United States after the US presidential election in November, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

"I would like to hope there will be no place for confrontational words and statements," Peskov told journalists here on the sidelines of the APEC 2012 gathering.

"American voters will decide who will win the race. For us, the key point is to be confident that, regardless of the result, the (bilateral) relationship will continue to develop," he said.

US President Barack Obama decided to skip this year's summit due to his campaigning commitments, his aides said. US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Thursday US-Russian relations were good despite Obama's absence in Vladivostok.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived here Thursday and will deliver a speech at the APEC CEO summit later Friday.

Putin aide Yury Ushakov said the president would hold 15 meetings with leaders and senior officials of APEC member economies, including China, Republic of Korea, the US, Japan and Canada.