Russia’s stance on Syria changed after it was directly attacked by ISIL, according to France’s Defense Minister. According to French Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft have been launching significant strikes against the Islamic State positions in Syria. [...]

European ministers, gathered in Brussels on Friday one week after the Paris attacks, vowed to tighten external border controls, backing France's call for a fundamental revision of the so-called Schengen deal to allow the "systematic" controlling of EU citizens at borders. [...]

The United States is continuing to buy Russian rocket engines which it once added to the list of sanctions, said Alexander Stadnik, Russia's trade representative to the US. The ban was lifted when the US realized its dependence on Russian rockets for its space program, according to him. [...]

The Hungarian government has managed to solve the migration crisis for Hungary. Many other countries are following its example and building fences, says journalist and political commentator Mariann Ory. Concerns that European open border policies could come at the cost of its security have been brought sharply into focus following the Paris attacks. [...]

Russia is selling China high performance aircraft as an answer to America’s actions around Asia, Conn Hallinan from Foreign Policy in Focus, told RT. Beijing has signed a deal with Moscow for Sukhoi fighter jets. China will buy 24 cutting-edge SU-35s. China is the first foreign sale of the multipurpose aircraft. [...]

The Russian fleet in the Caspian Sea has launched 18 cruise missiles, hitting seven terrorist targets in Syria on Friday, Russian Defense Minster Sergey Shoigu has reported to President Vladimir Putin. “On November 20, the warships of the Caspian Fleet launched 18 cruise missiles at seven targets in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo. All targets were hit successfully,” he said. [...]

I’m sitting in the aftermath of Paris, feeling emotions tear me apart. One of the emotions is joy. My daughter, who lives there, is safe. Has “joy” ever felt so troubling? The aftermath of Paris seems likely to be intensified (“pitiless”) bombing raids in Syria, closed borders, heightened fear-based security and the deletion of “the gray zones of coexistence” across the planet. [...]

As entire demographic segments across the West wake up to the fact that their governments are heavily influenced by outside interests, many are looking to Russia – and Putin in particular – to pull the fat out of the fire. But is this realistic? If you hear the same story enough times you end up thinking there is no other. [...]

Around 500 fuel tanker vehicles transporting illegal oil from Syria to Iraq for processing have been destroyed by Russia’s Air Forces, the General Staff said. “In recent years, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other extremist groups have organized the operations of the so-called ‘pipeline on wheels’ on the territories they control,” Russian General Staff spokesman Colonel Ge [...]

The Russian economy and the financial sector are quite stable despite falling oil prices, a weaker ruble and sanction’s pressure, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on Wednesday.   [...]

On the day Moscow officially confirmed a terrorist attack as the cause of last month’s downing of a passenger plane in Egypt, the Russian military hit over 200 terrorist targets in Syria in 127 sorties. The escalated Russian operation involved not only warplanes flying from an airfield near Latakia, but also strategic bombers operating from Russian territory. [...]

The Finnish Parliament will debate next year on whether the country should abolish the euro. Disgruntled citizens raised the 50,000 votes necessary for a parliamentary debate on 'Fixit' - Finland's exit from the eurozone. "There will be signature checks early next year and a parliamentary debate will be held in the following months," Maija-Leena Paavola, who helps guide legislation through par [...]

Israel wants to quash an arrest warrant prepared by a Spanish judge for Benjamin Netanyahu over the deadly 2010 IDF attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that killed ten people. The Israeli PM and six other former ministers would be arrested if they set foot on Spanish soil. [...]

US’ decision to deploy military advisors to Syria is a violation of the country’s sovereignty, according to a political scientist. Washington's attempts to battle the Islamic State in Syria can only succeed if they coordinate their efforts with the Syrian government and Russia, chief of the foreign relations department at Syrian Ministry of Higher Education Akil Mahfud said. [...]

Patient, consistent Russian diplomacy has trumped short-term Western hypocrisy. Reduced to desperation, NATO leaders finally attempted a rapprochement with Moscow at the G20. The current schism between Russia and the West began in September 2011. Speaking at the United Russia [...]

Russia has deployed its fleet of strategic bombers to double the volume of airstrikes on Islamist targets in Syria, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has announced. Vladimir Putin has ordered a cruiser to coordinate operations with French naval forces in the Mediterranean. [...]

In the wake of Friday’s Paris attacks, French social media users have been posting and reposting a catchphrase by Vladimir Putin, who famously called for terrorists to be “wasted… in the outhouse.” Some say they like this approach better than Hollande's “non-action” calls. [...]

The Russian military has launched airstrikes against the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria with cruise missiles from their ships in the Mediterranean Sea, France’s Le Monde newspaper said, citing a French official. The information that Russia has struck Islamic State positions in Raqqa has been also reported by a senior French government source, cited by Reuters. [...]

The Russian plane crash in Sinai, Egypt, was caused by a terrorist attack as traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of the plane, Federal Security Service director Aleksandr Bortnikov told President Vladimir Putin. “We can say that that [Sinai plane crash] was a terror act,” Bortnikov told Putin. According to the FSB chief, experts analyzed passengers’ belongings as well a [...]