Facing U.S. ambassador boycott, Kremlin says it would like to see arrested American investor Michael Calvey at St. Petersburg Economic Forum

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov expressed restrained sympathy on behalf of the Kremlin for U.S. investor Michael Calvey’s bid to attend the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Calvey, who has denied the fraud charges against him, is currently under house arrest.

“We, of course, would like to see him among the participants [of the forum]. But I don’t think we can evaluate this case somehow. We don’t know how serious the case it is,” Peskov said in an interview with RT. “We all know [Calvey] as a trustworthy businessman and a supporter of the Russian market,” he added.

John Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, declined to attend the forum due to Calvey’s arrest in the Baring Vostok case. A broader American boycott does not seem to be on the horizon, Russia’s branch of Forbes reported.