SovComFlot: Supports annual US-Russia Fort Ross Dialogue
The sixth annual US-Russia Fort Ross Dialogue Forum has come to a close in San Francisco. The event was held with the support of Sovcomflot, Transneft and Chevron. This forum is a continuation of the programme jointly supported by the three companies and aimed at preserving Fort Ross, a former Russian settlement in California that remains a unique monument to Russian history and culture in the United States.
Fort Ross was founded in 1812 as Russian outpost to facilitate trade with North America. Today, Fort Ross is a California State Park and the surviving fort buildings have been placed on the list of US National Historic Landmarks. Since 2012, Sovcomflot, Transneft and Chevron have supported the preservation of Fort Ross, coordinated by the non-profit Fort Ross Conservancy. The international Fort Ross Dialogue was established that same year, with the support from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an expert platform for discussing trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation issues between Russia and the United States.
The 2017 Forum was attended by: Executive Vice-President and CFO of Sovcomflot Nikolay Kolesnikov; Director of Sovcomflot (UK) Nicholas Fairfax; Vice President of Transneft Mikhail Margelov; President of Chevron Neftegaz Andrew McGrahan; Governor of California Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.; Governor of the Vologda region Oleg Kuvshinnikov; former US Secretary of Defence William Perry; Minister-Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in the US Denis Gonchar, and Director of the Foreign Policy Planning Department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Stepanov.
In his welcoming address, Nikolay Kolesnikov said:
“Fort Ross Dialogue meetings, that have been held for six consecutive years, have clearly demonstrated the appeal and relevance of the proposed ‘people to people diplomacy’ format. Over these years, the Dialogue has become a recognised platform for open and informal contacts and communication between citizens of Russia and the USA on a wide spectrum of history, culture, and business issues. A few years back, I referred to Fort Ross as a beachhead for Russo-American friendship. These days with the global political climate experiencing an ‘Arctic’ cold wave, it is reassuring to have the robust Fort Ross stockade built by our predecessors to continue serving as a shield for the dialogue between the peoples of two countries. I very much hope that Fort Ross, which was founded at the site of the first meeting between Russian seafarers and the local Kashaya people, will continue its mission as a meeting point for different nations.”
During the Forum, Nicholas Fairfax shared a memory of one of his ancestors, Charles S. Fairfiax who was a prominent politician in California during the second half of the 19th century and co-owner of Fort Ross throughout the 1860s. The town of Fairfax, Marin County, California, located on the road leading from San Francisco to Fort Ross, was named in his honour.