ST. PETERSBURG, June 8 -- On the closing day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov delivered what amounted to an investor pitch - the kind that, under different circumstances, might have drawn a crowd. Russia remains open for foreign investment, he said. Business has not left. The sanctions have not worked. Come and see for yourselves.

The pitch was sincere. What made it remarkable was the timing.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov confirmed that foreign investment remained a Kremlin priority discussed directly at SPIEF 2026 - both in President Vladimir Putin's plenary address and in the panel discussion that followed it. "We continue our interest in attracting foreign investments," Pes...