December 2, 2016

"Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual state of the nation address on Thursday. He mostly focused on Russia's internal affairs with abundant confidence, and talked about international relations in a level-headed and composed manner. He hailed Russia's relationship with China as a role model for international relations in general. He said Moscow wanted to get on with the new US administration and was looking to make friends rather than enemies.

While many doubt that Russia is compelled to get along with China under Western pressure, Putin said Russia's active Eastern policy is motivated by 'long-term national interests and trends of global development.'

Despite sanctions imposed by the West, Russia seems to have gone through the hardest times. The Russian economy still sees a negative growth in 2016, but smaller in scale. It has become the biggest exporter of wheat this year and most importantly, oil prices have stabilized around $40-50 a barrel."

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