Israel, one of Washington's key allies in the Middle East, refused to impose anti-Russian sanctions and is seeking to sign a free trade agreement with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Israeli publicist Avigdor Eskin told Sputnik, explaining how Iran's plans to ink a similar pact with the bloc may affect Tel Aviv. [...]

Russia’s enormous natural resources should serve as a guarantee of high quality food production, according to President Vladimir Putin. The country has ensured its independence on the global wheat market, he added. [...]

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's quest to scare Hungary away from dealing with Russia and China appears to have turned sour, as Budapest said it's fed up with lectures about its foreign policy. [...]

This comes after reports of the United States being engaged in direct contact with members of Venezuela's military, encouraging them to pledge allegiance to self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, while also working on new sanctions to ramp up pressure on Nicolas Maduro. [...]

As the US tries to impede Berlin from a joint energy project with Russia – Nord Stream 2 – the German economy minister says that his country will stick to the enterprise, backing Moscow as a reliable partner. [...]

Amid growing uncertainties on the global oil market, Japan is looking to boost its energy cooperation with Russia, and international sanctions on Moscow don’t prohibit cooperation. [...]

The Russian ruble has been gaining ground on the US dollar and the euro after global credit rating agency Moody’s upgraded Russia’s sovereign rating to investment grade with a stable outlook. [...]

Did Caracas steal money from Russia and has Venezuela’s self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido got solid backing from the UNSC? RT breaks down an interview with Guiado, looking at whether some of his claims are more than far-fetched. [...]

The number of foreigners coming to Russia for medical treatment is growing exponentially, rising by 40 percent last year, according to Medsi, one of the biggest networks of private clinics in Russia. “We have noticed a growing interest in Russian medicine from people living in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries and outside it,” Alla Kanunnikova, marketing and commercial activit [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson is under fire from Jewish organizations after claiming Israel is meddling in UK domestic politics by whipping up a “manufactured” anti-Semitism crisis. [...]

After self-proclaimed leader of Venezuela Juan Guaido said he might 'authorize' a US military intervention, he was rebuffed by Congressman Ro Khanna, who told him he doesn’t get to make the call on "US military interventions." [...]

The Trump administration is openly engaging in a blatant effort to overthrow the government of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. It’s a campaign aimed at regime change, and it’s being publicly promoted as an opportunity to steal Venezuelan oil for the benefit of U.S. corporations. They’re not even pretending. But this is not some insane Twitter thought spewed by Trump after guzzling down gallo [...]

NEW YORK (Sputnik) - Moody's Investors Service said in a statement that it upgraded Russia’s issuer and unsecured senior debt ratings from Ba1 to Baa3 and changed its outlook from positive to stable. [...]

On Tuesday, senior Afghan officials, including former President Hamid Karzai, met with Taliban representatives in Moscow weeks after the insurgents met with US representatives to discuss an end to the war. However, no Afghan government officials were present at the meeting, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani strongly criticized the talks as undermining his government. [...]

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro previously appealed to US citizens to ask them for support and to prevent the Trump administration from turning his country into “another Vietnam”. [...]

David Vaughan Icke, formerly a footballer and sports broadcaster, is an English professional conspiracy theorist. He is the author of over 20 books and numerous DVDs, and has lectured in over 25 countries, speaking for up to 10 hours to audiences. The Venezuela Crisis - Made In America Historian: Venezuela Is “Staging Ground” for U.S. to Reassert Control Over Latin America Ch [...]

As the former British prime minister Harold Macmillan would have put it, "It's not one damned thing, it's one damned thing after another." For the European Union, Italy has become that turbulent priest of whom they wish they could be rid, the fly in the ointment, the spanner in the works of neo-liberalism and war. [...]

It will take Ukraine between 50 and 100 years to get to the same level of economic development as its European partners, the World Bank has revealed, as it called on Kiev to boost reforms further. [...]

Global central banks bought more bullion last year than at any time since 1971, when the US ended the gold standard. Governments added 651.5 tons of gold to their coffers in 2018, according to the World Gold Council. It said that Russia, China and Turkey are leading the gold-buying spree. [...]

Straining to explain Washington’s eagerness for regime change in Caracas, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Cuba was already occupying Venezuela, misunderstood how democracy works, and claimed Iran had a presence in the country. [...]

The US was in breach of the INF treaty for years, the Russia’s defense ministry told the summoned US diplomat, calling on the US to destroy cruise missile launchpads, target-missiles and attack drones to return to INF compliance. [...]

Large numbers of Venezuelan citizens have come out to sign a petition against possible US intervention, as government activists began gathering signatures for a campaign to showcase “support for peace” amid mounting threats. [...]