Kremlin welcomes the decision of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to attend St. Petersburg International Economic Forum but does not indulge in excessive optimism. “Obviously we welcome this preparedness [for dialogue],” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, adding that “President Putin has repeatedly said about Moscow’s being interested in conducting and enhancing such a dialogue.”
“I would probably not indulge in excessive optimism and look for any signs of a breakthrough in each step,” Peskov added. “The recent descent to the sanctions rhetoric, the recent descent to renunciation of dialogue and cooperation in many areas have obviously had their negative implications, and it will be hardly possible to cope with those implications in a flash,” he said, adding that “it will also take some time to restore mutual confidence, which has been seriously wavered, as it cannot be done overnight.”
The twentieth St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held on June 16-18. The new economic reality and the search for new growth drivers will be the key topics for discussions at the Forum.