A five-day visit to Moscow ended with agreements to cooperate in a range of areas. Mali wants nuclear power and Russian military support, whereas the Kremlin has its eyes on a precious metal.
The UK this week pledged to spend billions more on its military readiness as part of a trend sweeping across the continent. The post-Cold War peace dividend now seems like a distant memory.
Shortly after Ukrainian drones destroyed or damaged dozens of Russian long-range bombers, the two warring parties sat down on the Bosphorus, discussing peace for the second time in two weeks.
Moscow's foreign minister has earned a reputation for being uncompromising and brusque but has also begrudgingly won the respect of many, even foes, for his professionalism
These days, Cairo looks more to Beijing and Moscow than to Washington, a policy change with its roots in the toppling of Hosni Mubarak more than a decade ago.
Trump thinks that lifting sanctions and reintegrating Russia will weaken Moscow's alliance with Beijing. That is short-sighted. The world Henry Kissinger exploited in 1970 is no longer.
By placing conditions to ending the war, the Russian president seems to be stretching the negotiations to bait Trump into maintaining pressure on Kyiv and weakening Europe
Some predict partition, others federalism or fragmentation. Amidst the competing interests of Arab states, Russia, the US, Israel, Iran, Türkiye, and Europe, Syria treads its own path
Israel's commandeering of aid distribution in Gaza forces starving Palestinians to run the gauntlet at centres with biometric monitoring systems, armed security, and life-or-death hazards