Arrange a meeting at a summit. Prior to the meeting, ensure government officials drop reassuring hints about the need to improve relations:

Russia now poses its biggest threat to Britain since the Cold War, according to security sources. MI5 fears that Britain has been swamped with spies since the breakdown of relations over the tit-for-tat accusations over the poisoning of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko. [Telegraph]

Russian diplomats were … furious at reports in the British press last week which suggested London was awash with Russian spies. Moscow believes the leak came from MI5, the British security service. [FT]

Then there’s the leaders’ meeting itself – a cocktail of personal chemistry, national interest, and the inevitable practicalities. So how did it go?

Gordon Brown’s hopes of a thaw in Britain’s relationship with the Kremlin received a setback … after “sharp-edged” talks with the new Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev. [Guardian]

Doh! Those bloody Russians!

The murder of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was carried out with the backing of the Russian state, Whitehall sources have told the BBC.