CHINA-RUSSIA: Putin Meets w/China VP Han At Eastern Econ Forum

(MNI) London - Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng at the Eastern Economic Forum taking place this week in the city of Vladivostok in Russia's far-east. Chinese state media has Han saying that China is 'full of confidence' in the prospects for cooperation with Russia, and that China 'is willing to share development opportunities with Russia.'

• China's Xinhua reports Putin stating that 'Russia-China relations are at their best in history. Russia attaches great importance to cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, culture and local affairs between the two countries and looks forward to exploring more new development opportunities with China.'
• Russian state-run Tass reports that Putin also said to Han "As agreed, we are expecting the Chairman of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping, at the BRICS summit. I propose that during this work we also hold a bilateral working meeting,"
• The BRICS summit takes place 22-24 Oct in the Russian city of Kazan. There has been notable international focus on the bloc over the past 48 hours with the news that NATO member Turkey has formally applied to join the organisation, viewed as something of an economic and geopolitical counterweight to the US and European-dominated G7.
• Malaysia, whose PM Anwar Ibrahim Putin also met on the sidelines of the forum, is another country seen as a possible addition to the BRICS bloc.