At the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin is expected to address the impact of Western sanctions on energy costs and the global food supply. This was announced by Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s press secretary, on Monday, June 13.
“The current round of restrictions targets energy and food, among other areas. We can already see how prices respond to these moves. The world is feeling the consequences of policy choices that appeared at the start of the food crisis,” he stated to TASS. “I am confident the President will address this as well. The forum speech this year will carry significant weight”, Peskov added.
Peskov described 2022 as a period of what he called a perfect systemic storm. He noted that economic policy became hostage to political aims and that many governments made missteps during the pandemic. The world is paying the price for those mistakes, he argued. He also said that the economic confrontation with Russia intensified those errors. Russia is a large economy, he cautioned, and the actions taken against it risk boomerang effects that linger far beyond any single year.
According to Peskov, strengthening living standards and developing the country remain top priorities for Putin. He did not offer any forecast about new economic or social policy decisions during the forum, suggesting it would be better to wait for Putin’s actual remarks on stage.
without talking to strangers
The XXV Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum runs from June 15 to 18, with the plenary session featuring Putin scheduled for June 17. The forum’s theme centers on a evolving global landscape marked by new opportunities under the banner New World – New Opportunities. This year’s program expands beyond the traditional gatherings to include forums focused on small and medium enterprises, the creative economy, pharmaceutical safety, SPIEF Junior, and SPIEF Sports Week.
As previously indicated, the forum will not feature a standard one-on-one meeting between the Russian president and foreign corporate leaders. The Kremlin spokesperson noted that Putin may still hold a sequence of meetings with groups of entrepreneurs or businesspeople. “Separate meetings with entrepreneur groups remain possible, and such encounters commonly occur on the margins of the forum,” Putin observed.
Historically, Putin uses SPIEF as a platform to discuss immediate concerns and long-term goals with international business figures. Typically, these discussions are private, with no fixed agenda, allowing foreign company representatives to raise topics of interest that go beyond press coverage.