Russia is crucial in bringing peace to Syria and Ukraine, Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, adding he hopes Moscow helps secure peace in Donbass, paving the way to lifting EU sanctions. “Russia, as a superpower, has an important role in Syria and eastern Ukraine, and Russia has great responsibility,” Chancellor Kurz said after talks with Russian Presid [...]

The US is force-feeding Europe its liquefied natural gas, which is three times more expensive that buying it from Russia, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said after signing a gas-supply contract with Moscow until 2040. While US politicians are accusing Europe of being dependent on Russian gas, they forget that “American liquefied gas is two or three times more expensive than Russian [...]

The US, under Donald Trump's administration, is becoming increasingly unpredictable and “unreliable” to its European partners, the Austrian chancellor noted, joining a chorus of EU members urging for more unity and self-reliance. “The US has become more and more unreliable for us,” Sebastian Kurz told the Financial Times. “The most important thing is that Europe has to remain united.” [...]

Germany has had enough of American foreign policy. Angela Merkel’s visits to Russia and China are a testament to that. On May 10, 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel openly said that Europe can no longer count on the United States to protect it, hinting that the European continent would begin to “take destiny into its own hands.” [...]

On May 15, President Vladimir Putin attended the inauguration of a strategic 19-kilometer bridge along the Kerch Strait, linking Crimea to the Russian mainland. This key infrastructure project is a major step forward in bolstering the Crimean Peninsula’s economy, and encouraging trade and access to other parts of the Russian Federation. [...]

US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to withdraw its support for the Nord Stream 2 project and allegedly promised to negotiate a new US-EU trade deal. CEO of the Austrian energy giant OMV Rainer Seele doesn't see a problem with dependence on the Russian gas, as, according to him, such dependence is mutual, DPA reported. At the same time, he slammed US effo [...]

According to Reuters' sources, the meeting will solely focus on the implementation issues and details of the Iran nuclear deal. Diplomats from Germany, France, Britain, led by senior EU diplomat Helga Schmid, and also from Russia and China, will be meeting in Vienna next week to discuss a new agreement with Iran similar to the 2015 deal, but one that would put curbs on Tehran's ballistic [...]

The real goal behind recent US sanctions is to isolate Russia economically from Europe and Asia, according to an analyst interviewed by RT. “The most obvious reason for sanctions is to drive a wedge into the relationship between Russia and the European Union, between Russia and China, etc.” said TeleTradeBel analyst Mikhail Grachev. [...]

France’s economy minister has suggested that the EU may compensate European companies affected by US sanctions on Iran, stressing that the bloc should not accept Washington as “the economic gendarme of the planet.” [...]

US President Donald Trump has accused Germany of not contributing enough to the NATO budget – but will German Chancellor Angela Merkel dance to Washington’s tune? Politicians on both sides of Germany’s political spectrum shared their views with RT. [...]

The “ice age” against Moscow must be ended, the chairperson of Germany's Die Linke (Left Party) has stated, adding that sanctions against Russia hurt European companies. Speaking to Germany's Osnabrucker Zeitung newspaper on Saturday, Sahra Wagenknecht said the ice age in relation to Russia has to be ended. [...]

The re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran and Washington’s threat to punish European companies for doing business there provides a good opportunity for ditching the dollar, according to RT’s Keiser Report host, Max Keiser. “The US uses the dollar as a weapon to promote US dollar hegemony and the US Empire. [...]

President of the European Council Donald Tusk has lashed out at US President Donald Trump amid the recent decision of the latter to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal as well as a trade dispute between the US and a number of countries, including the European Union. The senior official said that EU should be grateful to Trump as he helped the bloc get rid of its illusions. [...]

The European Union is planning to switch payments to the euro for its oil purchases from Iran, eliminating US dollar transactions, a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. Brussels has been at odds with Washington over the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached during the administration of Barack Obama. President Donald Trump has pledged to re-impose sanctions against the Islamic [...]

Ireland's foreign minister is being accused of hypocrisy for failing to expel Israel’s ambassador over the IDF killing 60 Palestinians on Monday, despite sending a Russian diplomat home over the Skripal case without evidence. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney expelled a Russian diplomat in March following Britain’s claim that Russia was behind the poisoning of double age [...]

The preparations have been launched just over a month after Berlin gave its go-ahead to the project. Engineers have started to prepare the construction site for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline by the shore of Germany's coastal resort of Lubmin, a representative of Nord Stream 2 AG told Sputnik. [...]

German magazine Der Spiegel has released its new issue, with a cover featuring Donald Trump on a middle finger, flipping the bird. It comes just days after the US angered Europe by walking away from the Iran nuclear deal. Reaction from EU officials is still pouring in since Trump announced his decision earlier this week, so it didn’t take long before the cover was retweeted by French Ambassador [...]

Donald Trump’s trashing of the Iran nuclear deal this week was not just an attack on Iranian sovereign interests. The US president was also poking European allies in the eye. In abruptly withdrawing the US from the international nuclear treaty, Trump warned that his administration was preparing to re-impose harsh sanctions on Tehran, and that those sanctions would also hit European commercial in [...]

While Washington is challenging the multipolar world with unilateral actions, Europe has vowed to challenge its hegemony. However, it has not enough character and political will to fit the role, former UK MP George Galloway says. The US decision to pull out from the long-weaved nuclear deal with Iran prompted the EU to consider replacing its overseas ally “as an international actor.” [...]