Sawt Falasteen - Putin T-shirts, robots and the Taliban -- but few Westerners at Russia's Davos

Once dubbed "Russia's Davos", the annual Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is designed to attract foreign investment and is the biggest showcase of Russian technology and business.

Some 20,000 guests from 140 countries are set to take part in the forum over the next four days, both online and in person, according to the Kremlin.

But for the fourth year running high-profile European and American representatives have been absent amid Moscow's offensive on Ukraine, a stark contrast to before the conflict, when some Western leaders would attend.

Among the states sending high-level government figures this year are the likes of China, Vietnam, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso.

Taliban officials were also spotted at the expo, amid Russia's push to normalise ties with the militant Islamist group.

Russian officials said some Western executives will attend.

"American business representatives, but I can't say at what level," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters at a briefing Tuesday.

According to the official programme, not a particularly high one.

A panel on Thursday, titled simply "Russia-USA", will feature the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, some private investors, the founder of a microphone manufacturer and head of a crypto project.

But in one high-profile win for Putin, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto skipped an invitation to the G7 in Canada, choosing instead to meet Putin and attend SPIEF.

- Humanoid robot -

Among the events on the first day of the forum were panels focused on artificial intelligence and investment in the Global South.

Russia has channelled its economic interests away from the West and towards emerging markets in Asia and Africa due to sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

One stand handed out T-shirts featuring quotes from Vladimir Putin and other government officials.

One from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov read: "Why the hell did I come here?"

Technology was also on display. A humanoid robot flaunting a Dior handbag was seen walking around the exhibits.

The forum comes amid intense speculation in Russia about the prospect of sanctions relief and the return of Western firms that left the country after Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

Hundreds of companies sold off, abandoned or gave away their Russian operations -- ranging from McDonald's and Nike to Ford and Goldman Sachs.

Putin has at times blasted them for departing, warned they will not be allowed to return and said Russia is better off without them.

He has also introduced punitive counter-sanctions, restricting the ability of firms from so-called "unfriendly" countries from accessing their profits and imposing huge exit fees and taxes on any wishing to leave.

Trump's return to the White House and opening of diplomacy with Russia led to a frenzy of headlines in Russian media about whether he would ease US sanctions.

Russia's top economic negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, said Wednesday that the United States may "in the next couple of months" announce joint projects with Russia in the Arctic, without elaborating.

"The very important process of improving relations between American society and American companies towards Russia is currently underway," he was quoted as saying by state media.

Once a fixture of Europe's business calendar, SPIEF was where Western leaders, CEOs and major investors gathered to seal deals on entering and expanding their footprint in Russia.

Then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended in 2013, as did Mark Rutte, the Netherlands' prime minister and now the Secretary General of NATO -- the man marshalling the military alliance's response to Putin's Ukraine offensive.

Its prestige started to dip after 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and was hit with the first tranche of Western sanctions.

But even as recently as 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japan's then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat on stage alongside Putin.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST