04 Nov 16. Events of recent weeks seem to offer little hope of narrowing the deep divide between Russia and the Western powers. Moscow’s continuing military support for the Assad regime and the attack on the UN food relief convoy near Aleppo, drawing accusations of war crimes; official Russian confirmation of stationing an Iskander-M missile complex in the Kaliningrad exclave; accusations of Russian breaches of the INF Treaty; the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov being escorted through the English channel (albeit at a discreet distance) by the Royal Navy; Moscow’s scrapping of the US-Russia Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement; the Dutch report which blames eastern Ukrainian rebels for shooting down the MH-17 aircraft using a Russian-supplied Buk missile system; and reports of Russian cyber-mischief against Democratic Party officials in the US – all have been extensively reported in the media. UK defence secretary Michael Fallon has argued that Russia must now be regarded as a competitor, not a partner, of the West (somewhat contrary to President Hollande’s statement in July).