SPIEF Draws U.S. Figures and Eastern Delegations as Western Attendance Fades Since 2022
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 4
SPIEF Draws U.S. Figures and Eastern Delegations as Western Attendance Fades Since 2022
1 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 4
Summary
St. Petersburg opened Russia’s flagship SPIEF forum under drone-strike pressure, with Saudi Arabia as guest of honor and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng leading a large delegation.
U.S. participation centered on Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the first U.S. official attendee since 2017, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was unaware of any official delegation despite Kremlin claims.
Cook appeared on a Russia-U.S. cultural panel with Steven Seagal, while Candace Owens joined a family-values session and questioned continued U.S. support for Ukraine on the sidelines.
Robert Agee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia said mistrust between Moscow and Washington is at an all-time high, even as he discussed potential projects worth trillions of dollars.
The lineup underscored SPIEF’s shift from a once Western-facing forum to one leaning on Eastern partners and fringe or unofficial American visitors after Crimea in 2014 and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.