Reuters is reporting that the Russian authorities are cutting down on the number of CEOs allowed to join the parallel business summit, and are planning on moving it from a luxury hotel to inside the Kremlin to keep tighter control.  That just looks bad.

U.S. businessmen are expected to
use a Russia-U.S. business summit on Tuesday to press Moscow to
rein in corruption and improve conditions for western companies
operating in the country. (…)

“It looks like the Kremlin doesn’t really want this
discussion and Russian business is not very keen either,” said
one industry source. (…)

And in a sign of unease about the business summit, industry
sources say the list of executives who will meet Obama and
Medvedev may be cut to 10 from each side from 18 and access for
media may also be restricted.

They also said the meeting could be moved to the Kremlin
from a luxury hotel, in a further indication that Russian
authorities wanted to keep a tight grip on the talks. The
Kremlin declined to comment.

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