Russia

Via Ted Galen Carpenter of The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Just when you thought the 'Russians-did-it' meme was fading, WaPo reporters manage to find DoJ officials who say then-Senator Jeff Sessions spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States - encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts with Moscow during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general.

//www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/5350986c-fed4-11e6-9b78-824ccab94435

Via Peter Korzun of The Strategic Culture Foundation,

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed an outline agreement to buy Russian aircraft. It also plans to implement a joint project with Russia to develop a next-generation fighter that could enter service in seven or eight years.

According to Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who led the Russian delegation at the IDEX 2017 exhibition, the UAE is to purchase a batch of advanced Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E fighters.

Via Federico Pieraccini of The Strategic Culture Foundation,

The best-case scenario has come about, which is to say the end of a world facing the specter of a mushroom cloud. With Hillary Clinton's defeat, we avoided a nuclear denouement stemming from a direct clash with Russia in Syria and an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Unfortunately the good news ends here.

 

The Trump administration's early attempts to change, and restore, ties with Russia may be fading fast, but at least when it comes to relations between Russia and its western counterparts at the United Nations, absolutely nothing has changed.