Putin breaks down his isolation, with a big assist from Trump

BERLIN – He took a rare call from the Finnish and Norwegian leaders. He hosted Qatar’s emir and Iran’s president at a forum of gas-exporting countries.And he squired African heads of state around a Moscow exhibition, advising them to control social media networks in their own nations, or risk mass protests like those that have gripped France. There, he promoted Russia’s answer to Starlink, but said Russia was in close contact with Elon Musk, whom he called “a brilliant man”.