Crimea-based Yalta International Economic Forum may possibly move to Moscow, due to ‘certain logistical particulars’

Yalta International Economic Forum, a Kremlin-backed event held annually in Crimea since 2015, may have to take place in Moscow next September. The governor of the Russia-annexed region, Sergey Aksyonov, spoke to Interfax about the plans to move the forum.

This year’s YIEF is to include participants from the several Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia last fall. The full event program will be announced by April 1.

On his Telegram channel, Crimea’s current Kremlin-backed governor chalked up the decision to move the forum off the Crimean coast to “certain logistical particulars.”

Since the inception, Ukraine has sharply criticized YIEF’s international participants for collaborationism. In 2017, more than 2,000 guests attended the forum, including 220 foreign visitors from 46 countries. Immediately afterwards, the Ukrainian authorities prosecuted a number of participants for unlawful entry on Ukraine’s territory.