Are German businesses returning to Russia's SPIEF meeting?

This year's St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which opened on June 3, is the fifth to be held since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Before the war, the forum served as a venue for signing major investment agreements with foreign companies. Back then, the European Union was Russia's key economic partner, and the forum attracted prominent Western politicians, business leaders and senior executives.

But after Russia invaded Ukraine, major Western economies scaled back ties and the forum's highest-profile foreign attendees have increasingly come from countries that are no longer among Moscow's key economic partners.

This year, the leaders of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Samia Suluhu Hassan, are set to share the stage at a joint panel with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Is there a German delegation in St. Petersburg?