The US still supports the Kosovo project even though it has failed and brought great instability to the region making many Kosovan extremists join ISIS and come back now to destabilize nearby Macedonia, says International affairs commentator Marko Gasic. Anti-government protests are back on the streets of Macedonia’s capital, Skopje. [...]

John Kerry's Sochi meetings with Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov hardly dissolved years of mistrust between Washington and the Kremlin. However, they probably signaled the end of Ukraine’s period as a global cause célèbre. In 1968, at an art exhibition in Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, the celebrated artist Andy Warhol was the star attraction. [...]

Over half of Russians think the United States poses a threat to their country and will create barriers for Russia's economic development, but only 5 percent thought the US could defeat Russia in an all-out war. The share of Russians who perceive the United States as a general threat is 59 percent, according to the latest research released by the independent pollster Levada Center on Tuesday. [...]

The Russian Navy has reportedly expressed interest in resurrecting the once-feared nuclear-capable Mi-14 anti-submarine helicopter. In the 1990s, Washington insisted on their decommissioning, along with strategic bombers and ballistic missiles. Following the news two weeks ago that Russia is preparing to renew production of the Tu-160 ‘Blackjack’ supersonic strategic bomber and missile carr [...]

A group of prominent former European officials have called on the EU foreign chief to review the bloc's policy towards the Palestinian issue and find an effective way to hold Israel accountable for its actions in the occupied territories. In their four-page letter to Federica Mogherini, the former top brass (which includes ex-foreign and prime ministers of France, Spain and Sweden, to name just [...]

Kerry's trip to Sochi to meet FM Lavrov and President Putin demonstrates that the US is now aware that sanctions they imposed on Russia have failed and they are looking for a way out of the row, says Marcus Papadopoulos, editor of Politics First Magazine. In the past US Secretary of State John Kerry used harsh words to describe Russia's stance on Ukraine. How does he feel now meeting President [...]

The Ukrainian Parliament has approved new regulations on martial law, which among other things allows for extrajudicial detention and relocation of Russian citizens in the country. The law was approved by 254 deputies out of 322. It regulates how martial law can be declared in Ukraine and the changes to legal procedures it brings. [...]

The Heilongjiang branch of the Export-Import Bank of China has allocated over $96.5 million to construct the Chinese section of the Sino-Russian railway bridge. The first railway bridge over the Amur River should cut transportation times and boost trade. “The Exim Bank has conducted an inspection of the construction site, determined the demand for financing and issued a loan of 400 million yu [...]

Greece has been invited by Russia to become the sixth member of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). The $100 billion NDB is expected to compete with Western dominance and become one of the key lending institutions. The invitation was made by Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak on Monday during a phone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, according to a statement [...]

Military cooperation between Russia and China will be aimed against mono-polar world and double standards, the Russian deputy defense minister told reporters after talks with a Chinese official. “Our Chinese colleagues have emphasized that we have similar positions on the problem of challenges and threats. [...]

WikiLeaks has released new documents showing the German government and the country's intelligence agency, the BND, were actively helping the NSA to spy on European citizens and companies. Berlin had previously denied these allegations. Papers leaked by WikiLeaks, which revealed transcripts from the first 10 months of the inquiry (started in May 2014), showed that the German government had writt [...]

During talks in Sochi, the Russian foreign minister presented his US counterpart with a Victory Day t-shirt and baskets of potatoes and tomatoes. Looks like an answer to Kerry's giving him Idaho potatoes in 2014. Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry met in the Southern Russian city to discuss international and bilateral relations. [...]

The Ukrainian president's decision to reclaim Donetsk Airport, a key strategic point in the conflict in the country's east, are in violation of the Minsk peace deal, says the Kremlin. Petro Poroshenko vowed on Monday to take the airport back: "I have no doubt - we will free the airport, because it is our land. [...]

Beijing has voiced "strong opposition" to a US Department of Defense (DoD) report which accused China's military of being a threat and lacking transparency. It also urged the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and stop jeopardizing bilateral relations. The USreport, published on Friday, criticized the actions of China's military in the disputed South China Sea – particularly the rapid const [...]

The Obama administration appears to be spinning the Ukraine crisis out of control and doing serious damage to trans-Atlantic relations all at once. Tensions between Europe and the U.S. over how to address the year-old crisis in Ukraine have simmered just out of sight since the elected president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last February 22. [...]

Ukraine as a new nation has to create a useable past, Arch Getty, Professor of Russian and Soviet history at UCLA told RT's In the Now show. War criminals like Bandera, who killed a lot of civilians, are being praised by Kiev government now, he added. Mikhail Gorbachev said that snubbing the Victory parade is disrespect for the people who suffered enormous losses fighting Nazism. [...]

Japanese government officials hope to win support for a plan to move an American airfield in Okinawa by holding direct talks with residents after negotiations with the island's governor yielded to no result. As the government prepares to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City to the coastal Henoko district of Nago City it must first win over the hearts and minds of the [...]

Cuban President Raul Castro has promised to attend all Pope Francis's masses when the pontiff visits Cuba. Castro said he may even go back to praying and church if "the pope continues to talk as he does." The talks between the Cuban leader and the pontiff in Vatican were strictly private and lasted for about an hour. [...]

The NSA has reportedly sought the help of Germany's intelligence agency in spying on Munich-based Siemens over the company's suspected business with Russian intelligence, Bild am Sonntag newspaper revealed. Siemens has denied any connection with Russia. The revelation came from an unknown US intelligence source speaking to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag, and is the latest report in a spy scandal i [...]