(Don't they know that WWIII is about to begin? Just ask David North.) NY Times, June 19 2015 Despite Tensions, U.S. Company Officials Attend Russian Economic Forum By ANDREW E. KRAMER
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — For a few days at least, profits seem to be trumping politics in Russia. On Thursday, Kremlin officials proclaimed their success in wooing at least 24 chief executives to attend an economic conference here, some arrived despite objections of their home governments. The three-day event, which runs through June 20, also drew Greece’s prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who had been talking to the Russian gas company Gazprom about pipeline deals to lift revenue for his debt-ridden country. Mr. Tsipras was expected to speak at the business gathering on Friday. Last year, American and some European chief executives largely boycotted the event, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Showing up is not illegal under European Union rules and American sanctions imposed on Russia for annexing Crimea and supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine, but the White House has discouraged attendance. “Through our combined sanctions, restrictive measures and reduced diplomatic engagement, we have sent a clear signal to Russia’s leadership that we will not return to ‘business as usual,’ ” said a statement from United States government. “We have communicated our position to the U.S. business community in multiple fora.” That did not stop 12 chief executives from United States companies from showing up, according to Yuri Ushakov, an adviser to President Vladimir V. Putin. In total, Mr. Ushakov said, 70 American company officers attended, though the full list of attendees was not made public on the event’s website. The published forum program listed as attending Jim Rogers, chairman of the Miami financial company Beeland Interests; John Wories, president of Amsted Rail; and Jacob Frenkel, chairman of J. P. Morgan Chase International. David Bonderman, a founder of TPG capital, a private equity investor with shares in a grocery store chain here, also reportedly planned to attend. Dmitry Peskov, Mr. Putin’s press secretary, told RT (formerly Russia Today) that “business circles are interested in Russia, as evidenced by the guest list of the forum.” The forum was hosting more representatives of international businesses than last year “despite attempts by some countries to isolate Russia,” Sergei E. Prikhodko, a deputy prime minister, said in an opening speech. The European business contingent was even larger than that from the United States. Among the prominent chief executives attending were the directors of BP, the British oil company, and the French bank Société Générale. In one contract, the chief executive of the Royal Dutch Shell oil company, Ben van Beurden, agreed with Gazprom’s director, Alexey Miller, to build a third liquefied natural gas plant on Sakhalin Island in Siberia. European and United States sanctions do apply to the oil industry, but only to drilling work in the Arctic Ocean at depths greater than 150 meters, or about 500 feet, and to technology used in hydraulic fracturing. The St. Petersburg forum, held during the city’s period of midsummer white nights, is Russia’s version of Davos. It is a prized chance to mingle with Kremlin insiders and cut deals. The executives came even as the luster of the event was wearing off. Russia is sliding into a recession this year and faces risks from a shaky cease-fire in Ukraine. The Russian economy depends heavily on an oil industry hampered over the last year by a steep drop in crude prices. Russia could benefit greatly from investment and technology transfers from the multinational companies, but those are unlikely under the international sanctions. A former finance minister, Aleksei L. Kudrin, cautioned of a “creeping change in the concept of how the market should work” in Russia; the government and Parliament are wiggling back toward ideas of pervasive state control, an old problem in Russia. Russia will be able put an end to its economic doldrums only if domestic politics loosen to allow a freer atmosphere for businesses, Mr. Kudrin said. He suggested President Putin could call a snap election to win a new mandate for economic reforms that would help diversify the economy away from oil dependence. Mr. Putin has three years remaining on his six-year term. This year, the event became a chance to resist sanctions. European Union ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to extend by six months the sanctions on financial companies — and some oil and defense companies — calming worries that Greece, seeking leverage in its debt negotiations, might break the 28-nation unity over the Ukraine conflict. Under European Union rules, all nations must act in lock step to impose sanctions, as a single veto annuls the trade restrictions. The sanctions are set to expire at the end of July. A formal extension still requires a vote next week by European foreign ministers. Mr. Tsipras of Greece openly opposed sanctions even as his government voted for them. He was scheduled to meet with Greek businessmen on Thursday. Ties with Europe were further strained on Thursday when authorities in France and Belgium froze assets linked to the Russian government to satisfy multibillion-dollar damage claims by shareholders in the former Yukos oil company. The courts agreed that the Russian government effectively nationalized Yukos, costing United States-based shareholders about $6 billion in losses. The Russian foreign ministry said it would retaliate against the freezing of assets in the case, but didn’t specify how. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
