Overview
- Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, traveled to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June as the lead U.S. presence and took part in a public culture panel.
- Before the trip Cook received diplomatic credentials, briefings, and a security detail, and he passed a message to Vladimir Putin saying “good hello from your friend, President Trump.”
- Financial Times reporting says Cook held private talks with Kremlin officials including Anton Kobyakov, a senior Putin aide, though the content of those meetings has not been disclosed.
- Cook declined to confirm whether he was acting on President Trump’s direct instructions, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was not aware a U.S. delegation was attending the forum.
- The visit marked a rare U.S. presence at SPIEF since the 2019 boycott and raises transparency and coordination concerns about using informal envoys to try to break the diplomatic deadlock over Ukraine.