Recent diplomatic rows with countries like Brazil are no secret and President Obama is working to repair bilateral relations with the strategically important countries before he leaves the oval office for good.

Speaking at a Brookings Institution event in Washington, Schaeuble described the standoff with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "new systemic conflict" that would be won by the side with greater "soft power" and a stronger economy.

Moscow State University’s Faculty of Political Science and the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of International Studies will soon begin academic exchanges within the framework of the cooperation agreement signed in October 2014, among the first between the leading Russian and Indian universities.

Sanctions have become as sacred to western armouries as nuclear bombs were 50 years ago. No one dares question them for fear of being thought a dove or a wimp. They cost little to the aggressor but make them feel good. They repress trade rivals. They attract macho adjectives, such as tough, meaningful, targeted and smart. They are chiefly aimed at domestic consumption. Only the poor (and a handful of rich) in the victim states suffer.

The first large-scale event organized by the Carmel Institute, the symposium reminded its guests about the profound cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during WWII and stressed the importance of the role such unity could play in the future, as well as how this might be achieved given the current political situation.

Stories about the increasing synergy in Sino-Russian relations have proliferated over the last few months with Western, Russian, and Chinese analysts unable to agree on the genuine contours of the relationship. However, there exists a consensus that the partnership between Moscow and Beijing has reached a mature phase with broad economic, political, cultural, and security dimensions and stable, institutionalized mechanisms binding the two powers together. 

Endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh believes he can break the political deadlock that has stymied the protection of the Southern Ocean after completing a series of epic swims off the coast of Antarctica. But Pugh says by stripping down to his swimming trunks and confronting the extremes of human endurance he has captured the imagination of Russia’s people and its politicians, opening up a dialogue that could pave the way for the largest ocean sanctuary on Earth. It’s what he calls ‘Speedo diplomacy’.

European powers struggling to hold together a stalled Ukrainian peace accord will resume talks with Russia and Ukraine in Germany next week as efforts shift from the battlefield to solving political disputes.  European Union leaders say easing economic sanctions on Russia requires full compliance with the agreement negotiated in Belarus in February.