Azernews.Az

Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening a summit of Asia-Pacific nations in the Russian Far Eastern seaport of Vladivostok, cautioned against what he called excessive use of economic protectionism, Radio Liberty reported.

"The protectionism pill, of course, eases the pain temporarily but hampers global economic recovery on the whole," Putin said, "it restrains trade and investment activities."

The two-day meeting of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is attended by hundreds of top managers and government officials.

Discussions were expected to focus on improving access to water and regional economic integration.

In his welcoming address, Putin vowed to try to leverage his country's fresh membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"As a full-fledged member of WTO, we plan to become actively involved in the process of establishing fair international trade rules," he said. "In particular, we consider it necessary to develop special regulations allowing countries to support certain sectors of their economy that are most vulnerable and sensitive to global instability."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- the top American official present -- was expected to meet with Putin separately.

Putin met early the same day with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Leaders from Japan and South Korea and the director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, are also present.

APEC accounts for approximately 40 percent of the world's population, and 55 percent of the world economy.