North Korea continues to play on a one man team as its nuclear tests only deepen the country’s isolation. South Korea, the United States and Japan are actively involved politically on the Korean peninsula but their goals rarely focus on issues other than international security. However, there are countries for which Kim Jong Un's regime is not only a target for international sanctions and criticism, but also an economic partner. China and Russia are part of that club. Paradoxically, maintaining good relations with Kim’s regime is important for Moscow as any potential dominance in Asia partly depends on Pyongyang’s support.

The relations between Russia and the United States have not been so bad in a long time. Arguably, they were warmer in the 1980s. Undoubtedly the tense situation will not be improved by Russia’s increased military activity. The involvement of Moscow in the Syrian conflict, the deployment of Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, the announced restoration of military bases in Cuba and Vietnam and the blockade of French resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council are only a few examples of the Kremlin recent foreign endeavours. It would be worthwhile to spare a thought for the Cold War-like state of relations between East and West, as it is difficult to avoid the reflection that the world has somewhat gone back about four decades.

World energy market experts proclaimed last week the beginning of the end of Gazprom’s monopoly in the European gas market. The reason for such an audacious thesis was the first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US state of Louisiana, which arrived in the Portuguese port of Sines on April 26th 2016. The United States was unable to export raw material for many years, but an oversupply in its internal market has led to a significant reduction in prices and therefore resulted in the deterioration of the financial condition of companies engaged in gas extraction. Barack Obama's consent to export natural gas means there is a de facto full mobilisation of all six American gas ports (three are still under construction).

Vladimir Putin's meeting in Shanghai with Xi Jinping, China’s president, was the culmination of a ten-year gas negotiation carried out between Russia and the Middle Kingdom. As recent history shows, Russia specialises in long negotiations. Conversations with the World Trade Organisation took nearly 17 years; talks with the OECD lasted ten; and the new gas contract with Beijing was just as long.

The annexation of Crimea and the ongoing actions of the pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine has sowed serious concern in the capitals of the former Soviet republics. However, only three of them have said “no” out loud as a response to Kremlin actions: Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan. In fact, they believe that the current situation in Ukraine is the result of overt violations of international law by the Russian side.