Top EU officials visit Russia in a sign sanctions could be eased

PanARMENIAN.Net - After a two-year break which felt more like a boycott, European leaders and chief executives of top multinational companies are back at Russia's top economic gathering in a sign of weariness about European sanctions against Moscow, the Associated Press reports.

This year's gathering signals what could be an emerging movement within the EU to ease economic sanctions on Russia. The sanctions didn't only affect the Russian economy by closing long-term EU lending to Russian companies but also triggered a Russian import ban on meat, vegetable and dairy products from the European Union, dealing a heavy blow on agriculture-dependent nations such as Greece.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who is to address the forum later on Thursday, June 16, is the highest-ranking EU official to visit Russia since the Crimean events. Juncker's office, however, sought to downplay the significance of his visit, saying that it should not be interpreted as a sign that the EU will lift the sanctions when the time for review comes two months from now, AP says.

Another high-profile speaker is Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, whose country was badly hurt when Russia closed its food markets to Italians along with other EU producers.

Moscow has sought to maintain good ties with Rome. While Putin was shunned in other European capitals, he was welcomed to Italy last year, meeting with Italian officials and Pope Francis. During their meeting in October, Renzi greeted Putin as Russia's "dear" president and didn't voice any criticism against the country's actions in Ukraine.

Chief executives of major European companies who are either engaged in long-term projects in Russia or whose projects were affected by the sanctions are also coming this year, including the CEOs of oil company BP, the chairman of the board of Nestle S.A. and others.

Moscow is keen to spin the attendance as a sign that European politicians have failed to convince businesses to break ties with Russia.