Politics
European Parliament
Luxembourg MEP Kartheiser canvasses colleagues for June trip to Putin's St Petersburg forum
Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser has written to fellow MEPs inviting them to St Petersburg on 3 June 2026 to meet Russian State Duma deputies on the margins of Vladimir Putin's flagship forum, Politico reported on 7 May. The non-attached lawmaker, expelled from ECR in June 2025, says the trip is privately funded and aims at ministerial-level dialogue. Lithuanian Renew MEP Petras Auštrevičius called it "an open attempt to recruit" MEPs for Russia.