Russia uses soft power in bid to win control

Washington

DURING the first phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Jan 28, both sides agreed on the need to improve the US-Russia relationship. While it's still uncertain how this new relationship will evolve, the conclusion by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing that "we're not likely to ever be friends" is telling.

More importantly, he noted that the Kremlin has "a geographic plan" and that it is "taking actions to implement that plan".

Russia has much more than a simple territorial plan. In recent decades, Moscow h…