What do these three recent events tell us about Russian foreign policy? Putin is able to think strategically, using all hard and soft power tools to promote Russian foreign policy interests. To the average Western observer, Russia's recent actions in the Caspian, Iran or its CSTO military exercise are viewed as three different and unrelated things. 

Everybody eats, which is what makes food a perfect choice to resolve conflicts and foster connections among nations. The concept is called "gastrodiplomacy," and South Korea is one of its strongest champions. [...] And even as the government supports its citizens in opening Korean restaurants around the world, it pays special attention to promoting that most ubiquitous of Korean foods: kimchi.

The heads of missions of five Asean countries based in Dubai met in a networking event for the first time with leaders of their communities on Monday to discuss future areas of collaboration [...] “As a community, you need really to have a very good people-to-people interaction. What’s more important is this is our first public diplomacy programme by all the Asean consuls” Yousuf said.
 

Korea and China celebrate the 24th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Aug. 24, but bilateral ties have suffered considerably in recent months due to Seoul's decision to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system here. Amid rising tensions between the two countries, President Park Geun-hye will visit China to attend the 11th G20 summit in Hangzhou on Sept. 4 to 5.

A strong, connected, and open Argentina is in our interest. The people of Argentina have the talent, resources, and ability to compete in and contribute to the economic and digital development of the region and the world. The United States wants to help them unleash that potential, which is why we have designated Argentina as a focus country under the Global Connect Initiative, a program to help connect the unconnected. 

In the last two or three years, there have been positive social changes in the culture industry. Viet Nam has taken advantage of the UN cultural agency UNESCO’s convention on the protection and promotion of diversity 2005 to promote the culture industry in the country. [...] I believe when people understand that cultural potential is itself a major sector of the economy, the culture industry will become a soft power of Viet Nam in the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to support Myanmar’s peace process Friday as he met with the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in Beijing ahead of historic talks with armed groups near the countries’ troubled border.

Americans and Chinese make friends with one another easily, and any program that brings them together is to be encouraged; there is no substitute for face-to-face conversations, which can so effectively break down stereotyping and facilitate deeper understandings. [...] I would like to see the U.S. and China jointly develop programs that use the media – both traditional and social – to enable people-to-people diplomacy to reach broader audiences.