Last week’s dramatic fall in the value of global stock markets was prompted, in part, by Moscow’s decision at the end of last week to end its cooperation with the Saudis to agree to new oil production targets, a measure designed to maintain global oil

As with many of Russia’s most prolific aircraft, the MiG-29 has spawned numerous variants four decades of service. Originally intended as a superiority fighter, and particularly as the Soviet answer to the F-16, the MiG-29 has been gradually recast as a multi-role aircraft with an increasingly robust air-to-surface armament suite.

Geopolitical changes, such as a crisis in Russia’s relations with the United States and the EU plus their sanctions on Russia’s economy, as well as the US-Chinese trade war, have given a fresh impetus to Russian-Chinese trade and economic ties.