A representative of the US presidential administration will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) this year, marking the first such visit in several years, Russian media reported.
Rodney Mims Cook, head of the US federal Commission of Fine Arts, said he has been invited to attend the plenary session and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address at the June forum.
“The organizing committee of the forum and the US State Department confirmed that I am invited, and I will be present,” Cook told Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
Cook, who was appointed head of the Commission of Fine Arts in January 2026, is also the founder of the US National Monument Foundation and a specialist affiliated with the World Monuments Fund.
He has previously participated in cultural restoration projects in Russia and delivered lectures at several high-profile Russian institutions, including the Kremlin Armory and the Arkhangelskoye estate.
The planned participation comes as Russian officials and business lobbyists signal a cautious return of US corporate interest in SPIEF, though still below pre-war levels.
Robert Agee, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said more US companies are expected to attend this year compared to recent editions, but numbers remain significantly lower than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“We will have a commercial dialogue between Russia and America,” Agee said, adding that US businesses are still approaching Russia “with caution.”
He also noted efforts to “rebuild cultural ties” between the two countries through business and dialogue.
Washington did not send an official representative to last year’s forum, citing Russia’s “more aggressive” stance on the war in Ukraine. US officials at the time warned that any return to “normal relations” with Moscow would carry significant “economic and reputational risks.”
SPIEF, held annually in St. Petersburg since 1997 and organized by the Kremlin-linked Roscongress Foundation, is one of Russia’s flagship economic events and will run from June 3 to June 6 this year.