BRICS is emerging as a sandbox for experimentation with various non-USD instruments, including payment systems, cryptocurrencies, digitalized mechanisms for trade in national currencies or through barter, and hubs for commodities trading outside of dollar dominance.

The exchange is not just the end of the story about the release of certain people, but also the beginning of a story about an injection of fresh blood into the Russian opposition abroad, and its relationship both with independent Russians inside the country, and with the outside world.

The exchange was not accompanied by any rhetoric of a reset in Russia-U.S. relations—instead, it was like a divorcing couple dividing up assets.

For decades, the West has been unable to build an effective strategy vis-à-vis Belarus due to the country’s limited geopolitical importance, its growing dependence on Moscow, and the absence of leverage over Minsk’s strategic decision-making.

We appear to be witnessing the emergence of a united front against Washington that extends from the Baltic Sea to the Persian Gulf.

The Russian leader wanted to use the encounter to reach out to U.S. conservatives, but the two men largely spoke past one another.