Putin administration

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell jets to Moscow on February 4 amid jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and crackdown against protesters. According to the Moscow Times, Borrell's visit marks the first to Russia by a tip EU envoy since 2017.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 15 dismissed the idea of any "Russian connection" in a tweet that came amid a New York Times report that said members of his presidential campaign had contacts with Russian intelligence officials. 

Strongly defending the legitimacy of Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets along the Syrian border last week, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has labeled Moscow's retaliatory moves against Turkey a "scandal."