It’s been a diverse week this past few days, with the standouts being President Putin’s discussions with China’s Xi Jinping, somewhat lost amongst all the Trump noise. China continues to buy huge quantities of Russian crude, while the development of BRICS multimodal supply chains to counter aggressive US maritime actions is becoming a developing issue. The Russian Prime Minister had substantial trade discussions in Brazil; we highlight the outcomes, while Armenia is facing serious choices as it ponders the EU versus the EAEU with elections due in early June. That issue will become more prominent over the coming weeks. Elsewhere steady progress is maintained for Russian trade in Africa, the Middle East and India, while the curiosity of the Hungarian PAKS II Nuclear Power Plant – with Russia financing and building an NPP in the EU – has just seen its first concrete poured as construction begins. ​ With best regards; Russia’s Pivot To Asia