The crew from a Russian navy ship that has docked in the Papua New Guinea capital have been playing soccer with local soldiers.
Port Moresby is hosting the APEC summit in November and President Vladimir Putin is expected to be among the 21 leaders in attendance.
A 40-year-old, 138m Russian training ship with 200 cadets on board arrived on Wednesday.
Moscow news reports had hailed the ship's visit as a "historic" first port of call.
But PNG Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato played down the significance of the ship's arrival, describing it as low-key and a "pre-APEC gesture of friendship".
"This is not a formal port visit by the Russian Navy but rather a goodwill visit for young people, arranged at a convenient time," Mr Pato said.
"Naturally, we have informed the Australians, our major security partner and close neighbour, and advised them of the nature of the visit."
