Washington, June 3 — Avia.pro. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that he is unaware of any official American delegation participating in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The Secretary of State emphasized that Washington did not send any high-ranking executive branch officials to Russia.

According to the head of American diplomacy, only private individuals or ordinary citizens could attend the large-scale event in St. Petersburg, which does not reflect the White House's position. At the same time, Rubio officially announced that the US administration is currently actively preparing a new package of tough economic and political sanctions against the Russian Federation to increase sanctions pressure.

The US Secretary of State previously openly acknowledged that Washington is not an impartial mediator in the Ukrainian settlement, as it supplies weapons only to Kyiv and imposes restrictions exclusively on Moscow. Russian officials have repeatedly noted that the latest rounds of Western sanctions are incapable of affecting the country's sovereign economic course, and the SPIEF itself remains a sought-after international platform for business representatives from dozens of countries.