The Foreign Ministry is taking steps to expand its online presence, with plans to open a Facebook account and increase the number of its Twitter feeds. The Foreign Ministry's move to attract online followers comes after President Vladimir Putin met last week with top diplomats and called on them to take up new approaches to transmit the government's message. "

The Russian Foreign Ministry is planning to open a Facebook page in the near future and has already launched special courses to teach diplomats how to make the most of their Twitter accounts to help promote Russia’s position on the world stage, the report said.

Russia's new NGO law is more than a move against organizations receiving foreign funding. It is part of a broader campaign to squeeze out those the Kremlin sees as peddlers of "soft power." The law, pushed through Russia's lower house, would see groups receiving funding from abroad dubbed "foreign agents."

They say a photo is worth a thousand words. Perhaps presidents Obama and Putin never heard of that expression. It is rare to the point of being unknown when the last time was that two world leaders showed such obvious mutual dislike of each other.

Joining the two for lunch will be two Likud members: Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, and Coalition Chairman Zeev Elkin...The event will feature an artistic tribute to Russia, in which performers from the bilingual Gesher troupe will sing Russian songs that have Israeli adaptations.

The United States and Russia are increasing people-to-people connections through education, culture, sports, media, and other professional interactions. Interaction among NGOs, artists and arts groups, businesses, academics and young athletes is growing.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's accusation that Russia "dramatically" escalated the crisis in Syria lost steam Thursday when the State Department acknowledged that the helicopters she accused Moscow of sending were actually refurbished ones already owned by the Assad regime.

Ritz has developed a remarkable rapport with the diplomatic community and with key personnel in government offices, as a result of which his presence was especially requested for the Putin visit.