US says working hard to have a strong consensus leaders' declaration at APEC

The United States is working hard to try to get a strong consensus leaders' statement at this week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) summit this week, the senior U.S. official for APEC, Matt Murray, told reporters on Monday.

Leaders from the 21-member APEC forum are due to gather in San Francisco from Wednesday until Friday. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have divided opinion among APEC members, making drafting a summit declaration difficult.