After fake news comes fake statements

The Russians apologised profusely for the incident in which one of their military planes entered South Korean airspace by mistake. No they didn't! Britain sent a delegate to plead with Tehran to give back the UK-flagged oil tanker seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. No it didn't. Just two instances in which alleged statements were made by officials and then denied subsequently. This is diplomacy today. Fake diplomacy or you could call it Absolute Joke Diplomacy. No one has a clue whether something said officially is true anymore. We're in a fake world where the truth is a lie. As a newspaper journalist establishing what is true and what is rubbish put out as the truth is getting more difficult as the days go by. What would be nice would be if a political leader could come out and promise: Whatever happens during my time as leader I promise always to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But then even if someone does say that we wouldn't believe him/her would we? It's a fake news AND cynical world. Putin is the expert in this world which is why he is thriving. He can say what he likes whether it bears on the truth or not. Why on earth would Moscow confess to entering South Korea's airspace when the Russians denied it only yesterday. The statement about the apology must have just been put out for a laugh. Putin never apologises. Has he ever apologised for sending military intelligence officer assassins to try and poison to death Sergei Skripal, the MI6 double agent? No, sir, he has revelled in Britain's fury and stated openly that anyone who betrays Russia will be punished by death. So I don't believe for a moment that Putin agreed for someone to put out an apology for the airspace infringement. It's difficult to fathom what it's all about. As for the British plea to Tehran to "give us back our boat please", I can unfortunately believe that because there's not a lot we Brits can do except plead these days. What will obviously happen is that the two tankers involved in the current set-to between London and Tehran, each holding one hostage, will be swapped. Iran will tell London to hand over the one seized by the Royal Marines in Gibraltar and then refuse to promise the oil will not be sold to Syria, and London will hand over the one in Gib and claim that Tehran said its oil tanker won't go anywhere near Syria. Fake news, fake statements.