Russian Economic Forum Proceeds as Usual, but New York Times Is Not Pleased

Former New York Times Russia station chief Neil MacFarquhar pens an article in today’s Times full of lies, whining (as the title says) “The War Is An Afterthought at the St. Petersburg Forum, Once a Marquee Event for Putin.” Ignoring the reality that more than 17,000 people from about 130 countries and territories have confirmed their participation in the June 14-17 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), MacFarquhar writes: “The real clue that the war and its accompanying Western economic sanctions have transformed the state-run St. Petersburg International Economic Forum into a shadow of its former self is the scant international [read “Western"] presence. Significant trading partners like China and India are dispatching representatives, as are a small number of other Asian, Middle Eastern, African and Latin American friends. Yet the world, for the most part, and the Western world in particular, is staying away. “