Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that future trilateral talks with the United States and Ukraine will focus on ensuring the long-term security of both Russia and Ukraine, rather than a short-term ceasefire.
In an interview with Russian television, Putin said Russia has consistently advocated for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis and remains open to seeking a solution through negotiations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Putin has not named the Russian representative for the renewed trilateral talks. He also said that Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates may host the next round of discussions.
Peskov declined to provide further details about Putin's meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, stressing that "megaphone diplomacy" and public discussion of proposals would only harm the negotiations. On Wednesday, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Putin conveyed Russia's readiness to Witkoff during their meeting to resume trilateral talks with the United States and Ukraine in mid-November, focusing on establishing a security system for Russia and Ukraine after the conflict ends.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed proposals for various ceasefire formats with Witkoff in Oslo, Norway on Tuesday.
Future trilateral talks to focus on security of Russia, Ukraine: Putin
Future trilateral talks to focus on security of Russia, Ukraine: Putin
Future trilateral talks to focus on security of Russia, Ukraine: Putin
The second phase of the 140th China Import and Export Fair has opened after the organizer demolished and rebuilt about 25,000 booths in mere 76 hours, a feat achieved through smart tools such as intelligent logistics and AI-powered drawing review that turned setup work from a "battle of brawn" into a "battle of brains."
Also known as the Canton Fair, the biannual event is China's largest and longest-running comprehensive trade fair and a widely watched barometer of the country's foreign trade.
This year's autumn session is being held in three phases, running through Nov 4 in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province. The ongoing second phase runs from Friday to Oct 27.
The Canton Fair completed a full-hall switch between its first and second phases in just 76 hours from 18:00 on Oct 19, when the venue closed, to 22:00 on Oct 22.
The turnaround covered the entire chain: taking down exhibits, removing display fixtures, dismantling booths and cleaning the halls, followed by building the next phase's booths, installing fixtures, arranging exhibits and setting up the venues.
Dismantling and rebuilding about 25,000 booths for the second phase within a three-day window placed extremely high demands on scheduling and coordination, as every step was closely interlinked.
"At this edition of the Canton Fair, we rolled out smart services covering logistics, exhibit handling, and vehicle access and parking, along with AI-powered booth design and drawing review. Compared with manual review, which used to take 30 to 40 minutes per drawing, AI review now returns a result in about one minute," said Huang Li, manager of the general management department at China Foreign Trade Center (CFTC), the organizer of the fair.
To boost transport efficiency, this edition of the Canton Fair introduced a new smart traffic management system. Exhibitors book entry slots via their phones, and the system centrally schedules each exhibitor's entry gate and time to prevent congestion among transport vehicles.
"Setting up ran smoother than before. We used the smart traffic management system, and our exhibits reached our booth smoothly," said Liu Tao, an exhibitor.
Canton Fair enters 2nd phase after 76-hour extreme makeover using smart tools
Canton Fair enters 2nd phase after 76-hour extreme makeover using smart tools
