Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said Friday that he intends to reopen political dialogue with Russia, amid growing estrangement between Moscow and the E.U. Jensen said that despite rising tensions, dealing with Russia was a diplomatic necessity. “Even though Russia is a major threat, we can’t find a crane large enough to move it. Russia is situated geographically where it is and that means that we need to deal with it,” he said.

To be sure, thanks to an extraordinarily active and well-funded foreign information campaign Russia has been able to undermine some of the West's narrative. But what it has demonstrated is that it is one thing to throw sand into the eyes and into the gears of the international system. It is quite another to actually accrue soft power, to get people to respect, like and want to support and emulate you.

Cyril actually stated the need to build orthodox geopolitics, in line with Putin’s foreign policy.The Orthodox church moves in the former Soviet area, which the Kremlin aims to regroup. All this, supports the government’s foreign policy, continually appealing to a shared values between the “sister nations” with “a unique story, a unique Church and unique future”. 

China’s Confucius Institute, a controversial arm of the Chinese regime’s public diplomacy apparatus, is coming under pressure in Russia, with prosecutors from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far east of the country calling for the local branch to be closed because it is not properly registered with the authorities.

The delegates recognized that there would be many hurdles to traverse for the military and scientists to fully harness the fruits of Arctic diplomacy. In particular, the distrust of China as a non-Arctic nation taking interest in the region needed to be moderated with a recognition of other global powers having presence in areas very distant from their own regional vicinity.

“The E.U. has helped. Latvians want to fit in,” said a Latvian gay rights activist who helped organize this year’s parade.The tug-of-war over gay rights has taken on special significance after a recent string of U.S. court decisions upholding gay marriage. Caitlyn Jenner’s very public transition from her old life as Bruce, meanwhile, has thrown a spotlight on transgender issues and acceptance.