Medvedev, Obama to meet next month in Japan: Kremlin

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama will hold talks on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Japan next month, the Kremlin said today.

"The Russian and American presidents will have a full meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Yokohama in Japan on November 13-14," a statement said without giving further details.

The two leaders will travel to Japan after attending a Group of 20 economic summit in South Korea on November 11-12.

At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit the 21 members are expected to again talk about the tricky issue of opening up their markets to each other.

Although APEC has made little headway for years in creating a free trade zone in the dynamic Pacific Rim region, a US-backed initiative that started five years ago with a group of small economies is gaining momentum.

Obama will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao in South Korea on November 11 ahead of the G20 summit as Sino-US economic tensions flare and territorial rows fester between Beijing and its neighbours.

White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes said that Obama's relationship with Medvedev was one of the "closest and most active" with any foreign leader.

"They'll have an opportunity to discuss a number of issues, including the progress that's been made recently in terms of US support for Russia's entry into the WTO, as well as our ongoing cooperation on issues like non-proliferation, nuclear security, and other security issues," Rhodes said.