Statoil boss cancels visit to Russia

Russia has been under heavy sanctions mostly coming from the European Union and U.S. World leaders have asked large business owners not to participate in any Russian held event tied to energy, economic problems and others.

St. Petersburg will be the host of the annual International Economic Forum next week. The latest name to cancel his visit is Statoil chief, Helge Lund. The news was confirmed by Statoil's spokesman to Norwegian media. “Statoil confirms CEO Helge Lund will not attend the International Economic forum in S. Petersburg. Statoil's delegation at the summit will be led by Executive Vice President Tim Dodson,” was Norway's biggest energy company statement.

Exxon Mobile, Alcoa, Pepsico, ConocoPhillips, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have already confirmed their chief executives will not participate at the annual conference held in Russia. According to Kommersant, the number of foreigners attending at the International Forum has decreased by 40 percent compared with last year's figures.