World leaders are gathering in Peru for the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation states. The APEC summit, bringing together the leaders of 21 countries, will focus on minimising the effects of the global financial crisis.

On his way to South America, the Russian President made a stop-over in Portugal to discuss European security.

The visit was brief as Medvedev even didn’t make it to central Lisbon, stopping at a hotel one hour away from the Portuguese capital.

The Russian president met his Portuguese counterpart, Anibal Antonio Cavaco Silva, and the country’s Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, during a dinner organised in his honour. The talks were held behind closed doors and the key issue was the Russian proposal for a summit on new security architecture for Europe.

Russia is not happy with the current system, which it says doesn’t fit the demands of the modern world. France and Cyprus are already backing the initiative. Russia hopes that Portugal will join them.

The relationship between Russia and Portugal has been developing well in recent years in areas such as politics, trade, energy, culture and tourism.

Portugal was the first leg of Medvedev's European and Latin American five-day tour, which includes Peru, Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is set to arrive in Peru's capital Lima on Saturday for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization (APEC).

The summit is expected to pave the way for coping with new tasks in the interests of development in the Asia-Pacific region. And the subject of the global financial crisis will be another one to top the agenda.

The Russian leader will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with the leaders of the APEC member states, including the retiring U.S. President, George W. Bush.

The talks will take a look at how relations between Russia and the U.S. have developed over the past few years.