Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has side-stepped a question about whether she's interested in meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC summit in Vietnam.
The Government's coalition partner New Zealand First plans to reopen trade negotiations with Russia, but the policy has drawn criticism from the European Union.
EU ambassador Bernard Savage has said reactivating the stalled Russia deal, suspended since 2014, would complicate New Zealand's efforts later this year to secure a free trade deal with the EU, the NZ Herald reported at the weekend.
Asked at her post-Cabinet press conference this afternoon if she's interested in meeting Mr Putin at APEC, Ms Ardern said she has to "prioritise those elements of our trade agenda which are acute".
"Obviously TPP 11 is top of our agenda at present, and I would say again higher on our agenda is the EU Free Trade Agreement," she said.
"I'm happy to share closer to the time who I'm likely to have bilaterals with, but at this point some of those are being locked in," Ms Ardern added.
Ms Ardern will be accompanied by NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winson Peters and Trade Minister David Parker at the summit, which she heads to on Thursday.
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