The president’s address at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum has garnered the attention of economists, financial and geopolitics analysts the world over. Sputnik queried four of them regarding some of its main points.

Speaking to reporters at the plenary session of Russia's premier economic and business forum on Friday, the president answered all the burning questions.

Germany—a country that initiated two world wars—is desperately searching for a way to justify its presence in the EU, Israeli expert Simon Tsipis tells Sputnik commenting on an SPD lawmakers’ proposal to add information plaques about Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s alleged crimes at the Soviet WWII memorial in Treptower Park.

Further steps regarding plans to design a tunnel across the Bering Strait between Russia and the United States will become clear closer to the end of the year, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries Kirill Dmitriev said on Friday.

The Russian president is participating in the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum for the 20th time. SPIEF has been Russia's flagship business and economic forum since 2006, attracting billions in investments annually. It's been dubbed the "Russian Davos" by some observers.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is speaking to the plenary session of the 19th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026) at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire regime at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, with a drone dropping a munition on personnel from a Russian Defense Ministry demining team.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has returned 185 military personnel from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime, and 185 prisoners of war of the armed forces of Ukraine have been transferred in return, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about Vladimir Zelensky's letter, which was published in the evening of June 4, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Russia is open to the return of Western businesses and must remain receptive to foreign investment in order to ensure and foster competition, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik.

Crimea plans to sign deals totaling more than 170 billion rubles ($2.3 billion) on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Crimean parliament president Vladimir Konstantinov, told Sputnik.

The fact Palestine defended its new observer status in the International Labor Organization is a source of pride for the country, Secretary-General of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions Shaher Saad tells Sputnik.

US President Donald Trump said his administration had considered sending forces into Iran to seize its highly enriched uranium, but rejected the idea due to the risk of American casualties.

The US Treasury and State Departments have introduced a new wave of sanctions against Cuba, targeting President Miguel Diaz-Canel, family members of Raul Castro, and key institutions including the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR).

The US House of Representatives has voted 226-195 to pass a legislative package imposing new sanctions on Russia and delivering more weapons to Ukraine, American media reported.