© Jason Alden/BloombergAluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska
Russia had threatened to boycott January's event after its organisers barred aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, industrialist Viktor Vekselberg and state bank head Andrei Kostin, who are all subject to wide-ranging sanctions imposed by Washington.
The about-turn by the prestigious mountain-top business and political conference is likely to irritate US authorities who have sought to use the sanctions to punish Moscow for "malign activities" including the annexation of Crimea and alleged meddling in the 2016 US election. It is a victory for the Kremlin and its attempts to show that Russia remains a powerful global player despite the western restrictions, which have been in place since 2014.
"I am pleased that after discussions with all relevant parties, careful consideration of international legal frameworks and strong support from the Swiss government, we are able to host business and political leaders from all G20 countries," said Alois Zwinggi, managing director and head of compliance at the WEF. "This is an essential condition to ensure that the World Economic Forum, as an impartial platform for constructive dialogue, can play its role in defining a much-needed new global architecture."
The Financial Times in October revealed that the three men had been informed they were not welcome at Davos. All three had been prominent members of Russia's business delegation in recent years.
In response, Moscow had threatened to completely boycott the event. "If so, nobody will go there," prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said at the time.
On Sunday, Mr Zwinggi said he was pleased to learn that Russia would be sending "a high-level governmental delegation to Davos." He added: "Should the delegation include individuals under sanction, all necessary measures have been undertaken to ensure that their presence would be fully compliant with current legal conditions." Spokespeople for Mr Vekselberg, Mr Deripaska and Mr Kostin declined to comment when contacted by the Financial Times.
The initial ban on the three men, which officials said was implemented under pressure from the US, has undermined attempts by the forum to get Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to attend. Mr Putin has not visited Davos since 2009.
Moscow will decide upon the seniority and size of its official delegation in the coming weeks, Russian state-run newswire RIA, which first reported Davos' change of heart, quoted a government source as saying.
Since the exclusion was reported, Russian government officials have been in negotiations with Swiss counterparts and representatives of the WEF in search of a compromise, people with knowledge of the talks said. It is unclear whether the three men will decide to attend the January event.
In past years, Mr Deripaska's glitzy party has become a sought-after invitation at Davos. Mr Vekselberg has significant business interests in Switzerland. The trio was hit by US sanctions in April that banned them from doing business with US citizens and froze their US assets. They are not banned from entering Switzerland.
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