Western guests including Elon Musk's father to speak at pro-Putin oligarch's Moscow forum
A pro-Putin Russian oligarch is hosting a two-day conference in Moscow on Monday, featuring a lineup of western speakers, including Elon Musk's father, Errol, the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and the British politician George Galloway.
The conference, titled Future Forum 2050, is organised by Konstantin Malofeev – an influential ultra-nationalist tycoon close to the Kremlin and under western sanctions – and appears to mark Moscow's latest effort to court western figures.
Other foreign guests include the American economist Jeffrey Sachs and the Briton Matthew Groves, a former East Surrey councillor the organisers mistakenly describe as a 'Conservative group deputy leader'.
The conference will also feature several prominent Russian officials, including Sergei Lavrov, Russia's longtime foreign minister, and Sergei Mironov, a veteran hawkish politician who adopted a two-year-old child seized by Moscow from a Ukrainian children's home.
According to the organisers, the event will cover topics such as 'foreign policy and national priorities', 'culture and traditional values' and a panel titled 'Maga in Russia'.
Once seen as fringe figures, Malofeev and the ultranationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin, who is co-organising the conference, have gained increasing influence in Moscow since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent aggressive nationalist turn.
The pair have also worked to cultivate ties with influencers abroad who could help shape opinion in Donald Trump's America.
It was not immediately clear whether the western speakers would travel to Russia or appear via video.
However, before of the conference, Errol Musk was photographed in Moscow, where he downplayed the dispute between his son Elon, the world's richest man, and Trump during an interview with Russian media.
'You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months, you know, give them a break,' Musk Sr told the Russian state-run Izvestia newspaper. 'They are very tired and stressed so you can expect something like this.
'Trump will prevail – he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed.'
Errol Musk also suggested the row 'was just a small thing' and would 'be over tomorrow'. The 79-year-old has previously voiced admiration for Vladimir Putin, claiming in an interview this year that his entire family was 'a little bit in awe' of him.
Elon Musk has become one of the most vocal critics of US support for Ukraine, and is reported to have held secret talks with Putin during the continuing war.
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