TODAY: Medvedev in Cuba, pleased with US NATO decision; no resolution on missile defense this year; Putin’s presidential term extension intensions. Athletes dispute doping punishments.

The meeting between President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and President Dmitri Medvedev yesterday was ‘heavy on pomp and symbolism‘, although the countries’ newly signed agreements could ‘lead nowhere‘, says the New York Times.  Medvedev was in Cuba yesterday for the final leg of his Latin America trip, which Medvedev has deemed a success. 

The Washington Post debates Vladimir Putin’s intentions following the extension of the Russian presidential term, reminding us of a 2001 Putin quote: ‘The terms of presidential authority will not be changed under the current president […] Even in the most difficult times and times of crisis, those in power did not succumb to the temptation to correct the constitution for themselves. In the end, this was for the good.‘