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In all the discussions of possible areas of cooperation between the US and Russia, one stands out because the prospects for it look so straightforward: the joint struggle against Jihadi terrorism.
Both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have repeatedly made clear their utter abhorrence of Jihadi terrorism, and in Putin’s case he has repeatedly made clear Russia’s wish to work alongside other powers to defeat it.  Here is what Putin had to say about this in his famous address to the UN General Assembly in September 2015

A process that many doubted would ever finally reach its conclusion is now ended: Donald Trump is now the President of the United States.
The Obama era is finally over.
Donald Trump’s inaugural address was as follows:

Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Yury Borisov on Thursday let slip some information about ongoing Russian weapons programmes.

US President Obama in what was supposed to be his final press conference as President (it turns out he may be giving another one tomorrow morning) made a very interesting comment about the role of Wikileaks in the publication of the DNC and Podesta emails, which appears to cast doubt on the whole story of Russian interference in the US election.

On the last full day of his Presidency, US President Obama was unable to resist meddling once more in the future policies of the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Obama’s comments unsurprisingly once more bring together his criticisms of the two men in the world whom he most viscerally objects to, and who it is clear in his own mind he has conflated: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has today confirmed that the Russians have extended an invitation to the US to join the Syrian peace talks in Astana, which is due to start on Monday.
It is not yet certain that US President Trump – due to be inaugurated tomorrow – will accept this offer, but the likelihood is that he will.

As Donald Trump edges towards the White House and calls for a deal with Russia, it might help him to assess what sort of deal the Russia would be looking for from him.
There is a vast pall of misunderstanding in the West about this subject in large part because Western coverage of Russia over the last decade has been so intense and distorted that it has distorted the understanding of even the most hardheaded of Western policy makers.
Firstly it is essential to put aside some of the common myths that become encrusted around this subject.

The look on the faces of Obama’s White House staff says it all.
The Drudge Report summed it up with this “PARTY’S OVER” headline and photo…showing the White House staff look in shock as the Trump moving vans pull up.
Jen Psaki’s face is priceless. makes you smile, doesn’t it…

How would you sum up Obama’s final day…

The latest round of Cypriot reunification talks have just kicked off, yet most of the locals are far from enthusiastic about it. There’s a lot of worry among average folks that their country is being sold out to Turkey, with people pointing to the generous autonomy being proposed for the internationally unrecognised so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (unsurprisingly only recognised by Ankara) as proof of this.

Leaders of the two main rival Palestinian political groups, Fatah and Hamas have met in Moscow where they agreed to form a unity ‘all-Palestine’ government.
Although many symbolic talks between Fatah and Hamas have resulted in meaningless deadlock, today’s agreement could pave the way for a future peace conference between a united Palestine and Israel.