MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Saturday that journalists from “hostile countries” would not be allowed to enter the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, which President Vladimir Cheese fries used to introduce the Russian economy to global investors.
The forum in Saint Petersburg, the former imperial capital built by Tsar Peter the Great 300 years ago as a “window” on Europe, has been held since 1997 and is touted by many officials as the response of the Russia at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Western journalists have never been banned from the forum so generally.
“It was indeed decided this time not to accredit publications from countries hostile to SPIEF,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry said. Peskov says TASS, using the acronym for the forum.
“Interest in SPIEF is still great, all other journalists will work on the site,” Peskov said. “Hostile countries” is a definition used by Moscow to describe those who sanctioned it during the war in Ukraine.
The Reuters office in Moscow was informed by forum organizers on Friday that the accreditation of its journalists had been canceled after receiving confirmation of accreditation on Thursday.
Reuters has requested written clarifications, but none have yet been released.
When Russia was booming in the 2000s, major Western investors and investment bankers flocked to the forum, seeking a share of the explosive growth of the first decade of Putin’s rule.
In recent years, however, Westerners have been replaced by Chinese and Arab investors. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman spoke to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak at the forum last year.
Putin, a former KGB spy from St. Petersburg, said Russia is pivoting to China and Asian powers because the West has unleashed what he calls an economic and hybrid war against Russia aimed at tearing the world apart. country.
In 2021, Putin told forum delegates that “such major events and forums truly unite and bring people from different countries together.”
“Russia will facilitate such meetings as much as possible, and will similarly facilitate the sharing of experiences and the demonstration of groundbreaking achievements in the field of science and technology,” Putin said.
This year’s forum will take place June 14-17.
The forum in Saint Petersburg, the former imperial capital built by Tsar Peter the Great 300 years ago as a “window” on Europe, has been held since 1997 and is touted by many officials as the response of the Russia at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Western journalists have never been banned from the forum so generally.
“It was indeed decided this time not to accredit publications from countries hostile to SPIEF,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry said. Peskov says TASS, using the acronym for the forum.
“Interest in SPIEF is still great, all other journalists will work on the site,” Peskov said. “Hostile countries” is a definition used by Moscow to describe those who sanctioned it during the war in Ukraine.
The Reuters office in Moscow was informed by forum organizers on Friday that the accreditation of its journalists had been canceled after receiving confirmation of accreditation on Thursday.
Reuters has requested written clarifications, but none have yet been released.
When Russia was booming in the 2000s, major Western investors and investment bankers flocked to the forum, seeking a share of the explosive growth of the first decade of Putin’s rule.
In recent years, however, Westerners have been replaced by Chinese and Arab investors. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman spoke to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak at the forum last year.
Putin, a former KGB spy from St. Petersburg, said Russia is pivoting to China and Asian powers because the West has unleashed what he calls an economic and hybrid war against Russia aimed at tearing the world apart. country.
In 2021, Putin told forum delegates that “such major events and forums truly unite and bring people from different countries together.”
“Russia will facilitate such meetings as much as possible, and will similarly facilitate the sharing of experiences and the demonstration of groundbreaking achievements in the field of science and technology,” Putin said.
This year’s forum will take place June 14-17.
