relations

The White House has employed similar logic to Trump's recent efforts to thaw US relations with Moscow, including dispatching high-level administration officials to Saudi Arabia to meet directly with a Russian delegation.

A spokesperson for Lesotho's foreign affairs department told the BBC that Lesotho enjoyed "warm and cordial" relations with the US.

Officials in Beijing had been hopeful that US–China relations under Trump could get off to a more cordial start after he invited Xi to his inauguration.

But as Douthat knows, some pretense is always necessary to grease the wheels of personal relations, especially of diplomacy.

Over the weekend, Sir Keir hosted a summit of western leaders, as they scramble to shape peace negotiations and smooth over fractured relations between Trump and Zelensky.