When Indian prime minister Narendra Modi landed in Brisbane for the G20 summit with two of his nation's greatest cricketers, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, in tow as members of his official party, his nation's political commentators described it as "crafty" to employ cricket diplomacy in sports-mad Down Under.

This was the most significant Western arms sale to Russia and its postponement - the exact terms of the suspension of the deal are not clear - marks a very visible rebuff to Moscow on the eve of Nato's Wales Summit. The Mistral assault ships can carry up to 16 heavy helicopters, land troops and armoured vehicles. Their delivery would have resulted in a marked improvement in Russia's amphibious capability.