NATO keeps backing Turkey, one of its members, despite its aid to the Islamic State and other jihadists fighting Syria’s secular government — and even though Turkey’s erratic President Erdogan may be leading NATO into a risky showdown with Syria’s Russian allies, writes Jonathan Marshall. [...]

The European Commission says going back to internal border controls on a long-term basis is likely to cost €18 billion. This is just the direct cost and excludes possible secondary effects. “If a process is set in motion putting at risk the depth of economic integration, including the proper functioning of economic and monetary union, the medium-term indirect costs may be dramatically highe [...]

Google’s European boss told MPs he does not know his own salary during a grilling over the tech giant’s controversial tax affairs. Matt Brittin appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday to answer questions regarding a deal struck between Google and the government, whereby the internet company paid a mere £130 million (US$185 million) in tax in the last 10 years. [...]

NATO and its allies talk about sending forces into Syria not to defeat ISIS but out of fear the Syrian government in alliance with Russia, Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards may defeat ISIS, political analyst Caleb Maupin told RT. The Western media is reporting that Russia is to propose a ceasefire in Syria starting March, 1 as part of a growing frenzy over Moscow's involvement [...]

In an angry tirade Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Washington of causing the bloodbath in Syria by not recognizing as terrorists the Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State in the region. Bringing a new level of pressure to bear on its NATO ally, the Turkish president questioned Washington’s commitment as a fellow coalition member. [...]

When western media makes up stories about Russia, it's no big deal. When Russian media get things wrong, it's "hybrid war." Last week, British state-controlled TV created hysteria with a documentary about a putative Russian invasion of Latvia. [...]

Kiev risks returning the country to an uncontrolled economic crisis if reforms and tight fiscal policy are not continued, Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said on Wednesday. Last year Ukraine's GDP contracted 10.5 percent while inflation hit more than 45 percent, the second-worst after Venezuela. [...]

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels have agreed to form an “enhanced” rotational force in Eastern Europe and step up military exercises there. The move comes despite multiple Russian appeals to the alliance to avoid provocative steps. “NATO Defense Ministers agreed on an enhanced forward presence in the eastern part of our Alliance,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said [...]

The premier of the German state of Bavaria has lashed out at Chancellor Angela Merkel's handling of the refugee crisis, calling the current policy a “rule of injustice” – a term typically used to describe dictatorships or oppressive regimes. [...]

Two US Air Force A-10 warplanes carried out airstrikes on Aleppo Wednesday, destroying nine facilities, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported. The same day, the Pentagon accused Moscow of bombing two hospitals, despite no Russian flights over the city. [...]

The neocons and liberal hawks who dominate the U.S. foreign policy and media establishment are pushing the world toward a nuclear showdown with Russia as few people hear a comprehensive response from the other side, an imbalance that a new Russian documentary addresses, writes Gilbert Doctorow. Without mincing words, the new Russian documentary World Order is a devastating critique of U.S. glob [...]

Clear evidence that the Syrian conflict has reached a critical stage comes with the Saudi announcement that it is willing to send troops to Syria – along with the UAE and Bahrain – to help try and overthrow Assad under the pretext of fighting ISIS. Just four months ago, the fate of the Assad government appeared all but sealed. [...]

Moscow provided the Netherlands with radar and other data on the MH17 crash but it has all been ignored, a Russian aviation official said, responding to the relatives of Dutch victims who recently wrote to President Vladimir Putin. Oleg Storchevoy, the deputy head of Rosaviatsia, the agency representing Russia in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash investigation, has personally addressed th [...]

Prominent US linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky has lashed out at Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who has accused him of being “dark” and having “mentality of colonialism” for signing an open letter protesting Ankara’s military op against the Kurds. [...]

Many Middle Eastern countries have repeatedly expressed their desire to purchase large shipments of Russian T-90 tanks. If not a direct opposition from Washington, this machine possibly would have become indispensable in Arab East and in Iran. [...]

Riled by a meeting between a US official and members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which controls the Syrian town of Kobane, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Washington to choose between Turkey and, as he put it, the “terrorists.” [...]

The Saudi plan to send ground troops into Syria appears to be just a ruse. But this is precisely the kind of reckless saber-rattling that could ignite an all-out war, one that could embroil the United States and Russia. Saudi rulers have reportedly amassed a 150,000-strong army to invade Syria on the alleged pretext “to fight against terrorism” and to defeat the so-called Islamic State (a [...]

Americans have been carefully shielded from the ugly underbelly of Ukraine’s Maidan uprising in 2014 that overthrew the elected president and installed a U.S.-backed, fiercely anti-Russian regime which has unleashed armed neo-Nazis. But a French documentary has dared to expose this grim reality, as Gilbert Doctorow describes. A new French documentary depicts a long-denied truth – that Ukrai [...]

Russia’s Defense Ministry has slammed NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, labeling as ‘nonsense’ his comments that the Russian air operation in Syria is causing tensions and undermining the peace process in the country. The NATO Secretary General made the controversial statement on Friday when he arrived at the EU defense ministers meeting in Amsterdam. [...]

The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday it was ready to commit ground troops to Syria to take on Daesh terrorists as part of a US-led coalition. When asked if the Gulf state was prepared to send troops to Syria, Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash told reporters in Abu Dhabi that this had been his country’s position all along. [...]

The head of Austria's government says the EU's border agency Frontex should send asylum seekers entering the EU via Greece back to Turkey. Austria has also requested €600 million from the EU to cover extra costs for accepting more refugees. "Frontex must pick up the people fleeing to Greece. [...]

Top ranking NATO officials are becoming concerned with technologically advanced Russian submarines operating in the North Atlantic. According to Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, Commander of NATO's Maritime Command, his subordinates report "more activity from Russian submarines than we've seen since the days of the Cold War", HIS Jane’s points out. [...]