California's Governor Jerry Brown told reporters on Monday that he faced no pressure from Washington when preparing for this year's Fort Ross Dialogue
SAN FRANCISCO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2018) California's Governor Jerry Brown told reporters on Monday that he faced no pressure from Washington when preparing for this year's Fort Ross Dialogue.
The biannual forum, which kicked off on Monday, has brought scores of US and Russian officials, businessmen and experts to the city of San Francisco to discuss the future prospects of US-Russia relations and cooperation.
When asked whether he had experienced any pressure from Washington in the run-up to this week's event, Brown said, "No, no pressure."
The governor added that he does not have any concerns with regard to organizing the forum next year.
"I am very optimistic. No Problems," he added.
The Fort Ross Dialogue is an independent forum that has been held at least once each year since 2012. The event is sponsored by Chevron, Transneft and Sovcomflot.
The forum became a biannual event last year, hosted by Russia in the spring and by the United States in the fall. This year's Russian session took place in the city of Veliky Novgorod in May.
The US gathering is being held against the backdrop of Fort Ross, a 19th-century fort complex built by Russian pioneers on the West Coast in what is now Sonoma County. Today, the fort and the nearby old Russian Orthodox cemetery with 131 identified graves are part of a state park registered as a US national historic landmark.
