As Russia and its BRICS partners convene this week, the organization faces a momentous test of its global influence: can it hold the line and insist on a diplomatic solution to the alarming US standoff with North Korea? [...]

The downward spiral – this describes not only relations between Russia and the U.S. but also the continuing situation on the Korean peninsula. Have we passed the point of no return? Bullhorns: Breakdown? CrossTalk: North Korea Saga Korea's New Reality: What next after apparent hydrogen bomb test? /* */ /* */ /* */ [...]

There are people in the US establishment who hate Russia so much, that they cannot live without smearing it, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister told RT in an exclusive interview. He said the fact that Russia remains strong and independent despite all their efforts makes them really mad. [...]

The US had to step back from its policy of regime change in Syria after multiple failures, as the jihadists they allegedly hoped to use as a proxy began posing a threat, Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Kassem, argued in an interview to RT. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin lamented the poor level of diplomatic competence demonstrated by Washington lately, saying Moscow found it difficult to work with people who cannot tell Austria and Australia apart. [...]

Moscow made the final payment on the remaining foreign debt inherited from the Soviet Union. Russia took on the debt after the other former Soviet republics refused to pay. “The debt to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the amount of $125.2 million has been settled in accordance with the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” [...]

The UK government has decided to put out a tender for a US$6 million contract for facial recognition software, despite the fact thousands of pictures on their system may be of innocent people. [...]

While Syria and North Korea remain the focus of worldwide attention, the US continues to exert considerable pressure on "undesired regimes" in Latin America, Russian scholar Igor Pshenichnikov writes, wondering who will become Washington's next "target." [...]

Earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that Tehran may pull out from the nuclear deal if the United States continues its policy of sanctions against Iran. Experts reached by Sputnik, however, do not believe that Tehran will go that far. [...]

Russian scientists and local oil field services companies claim to have created a technology for thermochemical gas fracturing that could be an alternative to hydraulic fracturing and could increase oil production by between 1.7 and 6 times, Russia’s news agency RIA Novosti reports, citing the University of Tyumen’s press service. [...]

Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin said Wednesday that Russia's national currency, the ruble, should be supported because a "big trend toward the de-dollarization" of the country's economy is growing at a steady pace. [...]

The Turkish Stream gas pipeline project will be implemented on time, regardless of the new US law that expands sanctions against Moscow, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. Novak explained that the contracts concerning the construction of the gas pipeline were concluded, and the construction was underway. [...]

Commenting on the recent statement of White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon that the US is at 'economic war' with China, Hong Kong-based political scientist Joseph Cheng explained to Sputnik that the US, in fact, can't do much to prevent Beijing from growing into the world's economic leader and why the two countries should avoid a trade war. [...]

The burning projectile fired by Russia’s TOS-1A heavy thermobaric flamethrower system is capable of making life a living hell for anyone within its reach. Aptly dubbed “Solntsepyok” (Sunheat), the TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system is a 220 mm 24-barrel multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis. [...]

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream gas pipeline projects would be implemented on time, regardless of the new US law that expands sanctions against Moscow. Political analyst Alex Zubets told Radio Sputnik that Brussels is well aware of its own interests and is likely to back the project. [...]

On Friday, a Russian nuclear submarine successfully hit a target in Russia’s northwestern Arkhangelsk region with a Kalibr cruise missile. "Today, the Northern Fleet's multipurpose nuclear submarine Severodvinsk successfully fired a Kalibr sea-based cruise missile. The crew conducted the underwater test launch from the Northern Fleet's test site in the Barents Sea. [...]

The Ukrainian Navy plans to open a NATO doctrine and tactical center before the end of this year, the Navy’s deputy chief of staff for Euro-Atlantic integration, said on Thursday. Expert Natalya Makeyeva told Sputnik that Ukraine is viewed by the West as an instrument in its standoff with Russia. [...]

The relationship between Turkey and the EU are further deteriorating, Dr. Rainer Rothfuss, geopolitical analyst and consultant, told RT. Rainer Rupp, publicist and former German intelligence officer, also joins the conversation. Turkish President Recep Erdogan urged nearly 3 million German Turks not to cast their vote for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, Martin Schulz’s Socia [...]

Members of the Russian upper house have stated that the 16-year US military campaign in Afghanistan had ended in failure and reiterated a call for Washington to withdraw troops from that country. “George Bush Junior started the war, Barack Obama promised to end it but never did it. [...]

US Defense Secretary James Mattis put the military option against North Korea back on the table following President Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon saying that a military action against Pyongyang is out of the question. “There are strong military consequences if [North Korea] initiates hostilities,” Mattis said at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and [...]

Amid expectations of the US launching investigations into China’s alleged theft of American intellectual property as well as unfair trade practices, Beijing appears unmoved by the imminent probe while US businesses fear reprisals in case the row unintentionally escalates. Washington is expected to soon announce investigations into how China tackles copyright protection, protectionism and mark [...]

The United States will most likely fail to oust Russia as the main supplier of gas to Europe, according to the Russian envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov. "And if even Americans supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe free of charge, they simply would not have had enough opportunity to replace Russian supplies," Chizhov said in an interview with Sputnik radio. [...]