U.S. Ambassador Huntsman will attend a Russian economic forum, and join a panel with sanctioned billionaire Victor Vekselberg

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman says he will attend the St. Petersburg Economic Forum later this month, becoming the first American official to speak at the conference since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. He is scheduled to join Victor Vekselberg, the sanctioned Russian billionaire, on a panel to discuss business in the face of “complications in bilateral political relations.” “We have a lot of American businesses who [sic] are going to be there,” Huntsman said, explaining his attendance.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators have reportedly questioned Vekselberg about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments his company's U.S. affiliate made to President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, after the election, according to a source familiar with the matter. Both the purpose of the payments, which predate the sanctions, and the nature of the business relationship between Vekselberg and Cohen remain unclear.