The political settlement of the Syrian conflict is hardly possible without taking into account the Kurdish problem and for their part Syrian Kurds wants to further develop relations with Russia as a country that has clear goals in the crisis, Kurdish politician Salih Müslim, ex-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said. [...]

Austria's 31-year old Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is expected to become one of the youngest world leaders in modern history. In an interview with Sputnik, political analysts have described him as a very hard-working and charismatic person and shared their opinion on his personality. [...]

The resounding success of two anti-immigrant parties in the Austrian elections, with the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) delivering one of the strongest performances in more than a decade, is a direct result of Europe’s open border policies, analysts say. According to the preliminary results published by the Austrian interior ministry, Kurz’s conservative People’s Party (OVP) has taken a clea [...]

Kurz was responsible for closing the Western Balkan immigration route, from Turkey to Germany and to Scandinavia, explains Werner Fasslabend of the Austrian Institute for European Policy & Security. Political scientist Heinz Gaertner also gives his insight. The results of Sunday's Austrian parliamentary elections show a clear shift to the right. [...]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Washington of an inability to build bridges and stick to agreements. The US unilaterally slapped sanctions on North Korea and may now pull out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, Lavrov said. “Two years ago, an agreement was reached on the Iranian nuclear program, which was approved by the UN Security Council. [...]

A Norwegian delegation comprising 11 Norwegian politicians and businessmen has underlined the necessity of signing an agreement on cooperation with Crimea after a week-long visit to the peninsula. A Norwegian delegation has expressed its willingness to cooperate with Crimea and establish friendly relations with the Russian region after paying an official visit to the peninsula, member of the Crim [...]

In the follow up to the results of the Catalan referendum on independence and the stern crackdown of the Spanish central government against voters, Czech Communist MEP Jaromír Kohlíček told Sputnik Czech that Madrid is likely to have more problems as it has other autonomous communities which desire more sovereignty. [...]

A Soviet officer who prevented a nuclear crisis between the US and the USSR and possible World War III in the 1980s has quietly passed away. He was 77. In 2010 RT spoke to Stanislav Petrov, who never considered himself a hero. We look at the life of the man who saved the world. [...]

Rex Tillerson took a moment at the UN Security Council to remember Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov, who bravely called a false alarm when all computer data told him the US had launched nuclear missiles at the USSR at the height of the Cold War. [...]

Russia’s engagement in the Syrian conflict has been very important, including a number of major victories both on the battlefield and on the diplomatic front. At the same time, the US involvement has done more harm than good to the situation, Australian political analyst Tom Anderson told Radio Sputnik. [...]

As President Trump taunts North Korea’s leader with schoolyard insults, the terrifying possibility is that his threat to “totally destroy” a country of 25 million people could involve the U.S. in another genocide, warns David Marks. The level of insult and hostile name-calling between world leaders was taken to a new extreme by Donald Trump in his speech before the U.N. General Assembly. [...]

The 2017 German federal elections brought the first representation of a right-wing party to Berlin since World War II, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) taking nearly 100 seats in the Bundestag. The academic community is struggling to explain the reasons behind the popularity of the nationalist party. [...]

While airstrikes by the US-led coalition in Syria have only resulted in terrorists seizing ever new chunks of Syrian territory, the Russian military operation, launched in 2016 , has led to a huge military shift turning the tables against the jihadists, an independent British journalist told Sputnik. [...]

September 30 marks the second anniversary of the Russian counterterrorism military operation in Syria. Unlike the efforts by the United States and its international coalition, the Russian campaign in Syria is fully legitimate. It was launched at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Sputnik presents a look into the results of the Russian aerial campaign in Syria after two years   [...]

Guest Column from Germany -- America Frightens Us Dear Friends: I am pleased to be able to share with you this revealing article written for our website by the editor of an important website in Germany. Washington’s lies echoed by the presstitute media that serves Washington are destroying Washington’s credibility and that of the Western media among Europeans, especially Germans who unde [...]

Russia has provided evidence that Washington is collaborating with ISIS in attack on Russian forces. In one Washington-directed attack, ISIS tried to capture 29 Russian military policemen. However, Russian special forces entered the fray, and the result was spectacular losses for ISIS. In another Washington-directed attack, Russian General Valery Asapov and two Russian colonels were killed in an [...]

Don’t laugh or adjust your sets. Donald Trump really is going ahead with a new military campaign in Afghanistan, despite an army of experts telling him it will only worsen matters. All he needs now is a Hollywood scriptwriter and Alec Baldwin. [...]

The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman commented Monday on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's statement comparing Crimea's reunification with Russia to the German reunification. Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented Monday on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's statement comparing Crimea's reunification with Russia to the German reunification, joking that it might [...]

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Spain to observe the rights of Catalans amid reports on detentions and searches in numerous public agencies, including the local government ahead of the region's independence referendum. [...]

Ukraine's Defense Ministry has sacked chief military psychiatrist Oleh Druz, who told lawmakers that 93% of veterans from the conflict in the country's east need treatment for mental health issues. Radio Sputnik contributor Vladimir Filippov says Druz's remarks, and Kiev's reaction, are a testament to the senselessness of the country's civil war. [...]

For six years, John Mark Dougan was an officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Having witnessed widespread corruption, blackmail and nepotism, he resigned and created a website where people could post evidence of police misconduct. In 2016, he fled to Russia for fear of his life. [...]

Russian military personnel have built a bridge across the Euphrates River, not far from the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, in less than 48 hours despite coming under constant shelling, a Ministry of Defense official said. [...]