Putin: Obama’s decision not to attend APEC Bali summit justified, I would have done the same

(Interfax – BALI, October 7, 2013) The absence of U.S. President Barack Obama from the APEC Bali summit is quite understandable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. He said he would have done the same.

“We can see what is going on in U.S. domestic politics and this situation is not easy. I think the decision of the U.S. president not to come here is quite well-founded. I think I would not have come either if I were in his shoes,” Putin told businessmen at the APEC summit.

He stressed that the other chiefs of state would have made the same decision. “Whenever it is impossible to pass a budget and the government shuts down, there is no time to deal with the international agenda,” Putin said.

[featured image is file photo]