Since the presidency of Barack Obama, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has demanded arms supplies from the US. However, the prospect of Washington satisfying Kiev's request frightens Germany and France, Deutschlandfunk radio station reported. [...]

Germany's gold bars have been kept abroad since the end of the WWII. The activist campaign "Bring our gold back home!" demands the return of the gold reserves to German soil. The process of repatriation is already underway. In early 2017, it was reported that Germany's Bundesbank had repatriated almost half its gold reserves from abroad. [...]

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US-Russia ties are "at an all-time" and "very dangerous" low. Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare!" Trump said in a Twitter statement a day after he signed into law the US sanctions bill targeting Russia. [...]

The new Russian Sanctions law (officially named the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act”) is hardcore, but the worst of it may cripple the U.S. Space Program and harm U.S. national security and the U.S. economy. It all depends on how Russian President Putin decides to respond. The most obvious target will be NASA and companies in the U.S. Defense Industrial Base that h [...]

Rex Tillerson’s mind-boggling claim the US wants to hurt Russia with sanctions to help foster better relations is arguably just a sign of a greater problem in the Trump administration, which seems struggling to form a consistent foreign policy. [...]

By expressing concerns over the Moscow-Ankara talks on the delivery of the S-400 missile defense system to Turkey, Washington is engaged in unfair competition in the arms market, according to military analyst Viktor Murakhovsky. Recently, the United States said that Turkey buying the S-400 system would become a major concern. [...]

White House officials have been sending mixed signals regarding President Trump's stance on the new Russia sanctions bill. Political scientist Sergei Sudakov says Washington's uncertainty makes sense, since the bill puts the US and Europe on the path to a major trade war.   [...]

There are several ways Russia could respond to the new US sanctions bill. At the same time, according to experts, the response should be cautious and well calculated. The US Senate has passed a new version of a sanctions bill on Russia, Iran and North Korea. [...]

The commander of the United States Pacific Fleet said Thursday that he would launch a nuclear strike on China if President Donald Trump ordered it. "The answer would be: Yes," Adm. Scott Swift said, responding to a hypothetical question at a security conference at the Australian National University, according to ABC News. [...]

The US State Department has openly supported Russia's efforts in settling the diplomatic conflict between Qatar and the four Arab states led by Saudi Arabia. Numerous attempts by the United States to reconcile its Middle Eastern allies have not yielded results. What could be behind such a twist? [...]

Ukrainian military prosecutors are suing the company charged with repairing the Hetman Sahaydachniy frigate, whose engines broke down soon after costly repairs. Speaking to Sputnik, military observer Konstantin Kivkov said that the story around the frigate is a 'shining example' of officials' efforts to deprive Ukraine of its defense capabilities. [...]

It’s a nightmare: civilian deaths in Syria and Iraq in the ongoing war against Daesh are rising faster than local officials, and remote military intelligence gathering, can count, and the US-led coalition seems unwilling to do anything about it. [...]

The Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), not the US, should take the credit for the recent liberation of Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group, Iraqi Vice-President Nouri al-Maliki said on Friday. [...]

Turkey mulling the purchase of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system can be described as "a unique situation," which means that Ankara "is falling out of NATO's air defense system," a Russian military expert told Sputnik. [...]

The CIA director has recently said that Russia "has no plans to leave Syria and will continue to try to meddle in US affairs 'to stick it to' America." Political scientist Alexander Gusev reminded that nobody invited the US to Syria. The fact was admitted by the head of the US Special Forces, who said that it "could force the US out of there." [...]

It is time for the EU to decide whether they want to defend Europeans and European business interests and stand up against what the Americans are trying to do, says MEP Nathan Gill from the UK Independence Party. [...]

Crimea’s reunification with Russia is an “organic” process, Serbian movie director, Emir Kusturica, told journalists in Yalta, saying, that those living on the Peninsula do not need approval from abroad to build their lives as part of Russia. [...]

When North Korea tested its first successful intercontinental ballistic on July 4, US forces had a “very easy shot at killing Kim and didn’t,” Stratfor Asia Pacific consultant Rodger Baker told Business Insider. During the launch, Kim reportedly hung around the platform smoking cigarettes for over an hour, The Diplomat reported, giving US military and intelligence agents the opportunity to [...]

The Russian Navy is expected to hold a series of drills off the coast of Syria beginning Friday and lasting until the end of the month. Speaking to Sputnik, military observer Vladislav Shurygin noted that Russia's military has demonstrated a level of combat readiness in Syria which Russia's NATO counterparts have yet to get used to. [...]

You are a man-of-the-people left-wing politician riding the crest of a wave of popularity. Members of the public regularly ask you to pose for photographs with them. Do you: (a) Tell them to "Bugger Off!" (b) Say, "Of course, no problems, comrade," and pose for the snap, (c) Hand the person a long questionnaire to fill in detailing their political views on foreign policy issues — includ [...]

It appears that Brussels is about to pin its hopes on Libyan National Army Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who has recently liberated Benghazi from Islamists, Radio Sputnik contributor Vladimir Bychkov noted. In contrast to other Libyan "leaders" Haftar has real power, he added. [...]

The Trump administration's inconsistent foreign policy in the Middle East is likely to prompt Washington's European allies to side, at least on critical occasions, with Russia, geopolitical analyst Gilbert Mercier told Sputnik. As a result, the United States could end up isolating itself, he added. [...]