Big meeting in Moscow:
By now everybody has seen the photo of Putin and Assad shaking hands. What has received less attention is whom Assad actually met.
Putin, of course. And Lavrov and Shoigu. They spoke for a total of three hours. Then Medvedevjoined them for a private dinner. Guess who else joined them? Mikhail Fradkov, Head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, and Nikolai Patrushev, Head of the Russian Security Council.
Guys, this is most definitely a power-meeting my any standard, something which only happens very very rarely in the presence of a foreign head of state (only Xi had that kind of access, if I remember correctly). And that tells me that majo
