The European Commission has presented a set of measures to boost the euro as a global reserve currency to challenge the dollar in international transactions, including those in the energy sector. A number of states have taken the course of de-dollarisation in a bid to decrease dependence on the greenback and its clout on the energy sector, mainly in transactions with sanctions-stricken Iran. [...]

She’s representing Iceland in Miss Universe 2018, but it turns out the stunning Katrin Lea Elenudottir comes from Russia’s Siberia. The fair-skinned, blue-eyed beauty emigrated at young age but retains a fondness for her roots. [...]

The US has long planned to withdraw from the INF Treaty but it's only now that they started seeking justifications for it and conveniently pinned the blame on Russia, Vladimir Putin said after Washington’s 60-day ultimatum. [...]

All 24 Ukrainian sailors who were detained for illegally crossing the Russian maritime border in the Azov Sea have had charges brought against them by Russian investigators and now face up to six years in prison, lawyer Nikolay Polozov told Sputnik on Monday. [...]

The Austrian chancellor, who, along with his Austrian People's Party and coalition partner the Freedom Party, came to power in January 2018, has recapped the results of his first year in office and outlined priorities for the next year. [...]

Washington's reported plans to ratchet up sanctions against Moscow have sparked heated debates both in the US and in Russia over which country will be hurt more. The US has hinted that it would target exports of sensitive national security goods to Russia, stop flights by Russia's Aeroflot airlines to the US, and could go as far as banning all US exports to Russia. [...]

When violent protests shook Kiev in 2013, Western analysts and leaders quickly threw their support behind the anti-government ‘revolution’ — but after weeks of Yellow Vest protests in France, the reaction has been very different. [...]

Vladimir Putin’s simple-minded nature is to blame for the growing tensions between the US and Russia, Defense Secretary James Mattis has claimed, flexing his elite Marine Corps analytical skills. [...]

Moscow has hit back at US President Donald Trump's cancelation of his scheduled meeting with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit saying that it would give more time for the Russian leader to hold more “useful” meetings. The two leaders were due to hold talks this weekend in Buenos Aries. [...]

Russia is updating its navigation rules for a contingency involving another nation’s warships attempting to sail along the Northern Sea Route. Such a passage would require prior notification from the Defense Ministry. [...]

Syrian flag carrier Syrian Air is discussing with Russia the purchase of new MC-21 passenger jets, the airline's CEO, Talal Abdulkarim, told Sputnik on Thursday. 'Some time ago, we contacted the Russian side directly to discuss a purchase of MC-21 jets. Our company wants to be the first in buying these aircraft from this high-tech brand', Abdulkarim said in an interview. [...]

Syrian air defences have downed several "hostile targets" over the country's southern region, Syrian news agency SANA reported. A Syrian security source reported that the air defences downed an Israeli combat plane and four missiles. Israeli military has refuted the claims about the downing. [...]

Earlier, Germany voiced support for the construction of the second Nord Stream pipeline amid criticism from US President Donald Trump, who has urged EU countries to abandon the project and buy American liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead. [...]

The US rarely has 'unblemished' partners so it will pour more defensive weapons into Saudi Arabia despite outrage over Khashoggi and Yemen, Pentagon chief James Mattis admitted as the nation handed the kingdom a big new deal. [...]

The Israeli military has described reports that one of its jets was brought down while carrying out airstrikes in Syria as “bogus,” amid reports that the country’s air defense systems engaged and downed several “hostile targets”. [...]

The Russian-led gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2, which is aimed at delivering Russian gas to Europe via Germany, must be completed, according to the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier. The minister says the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has nothing to do with the project. [...]

For decades, the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank and custodian of the country’s gold, has been storing over 1,200 tons of the precious metal worth nearly €50 billion in the New York vaults of the US Federal Reserve. [...]

Those pulling dollars out of Russia aren't shooting themselves in the foot, but a bit higher. Russia is moving away from the US dollar, but not to the detriment of its own interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin said while speaking at the global investment forum in Moscow on Wednesday. The Russian president called on the United States to abandon the policy of unilateral sanctions and seek [...]

Provocations carried out by the Ukrainian navy in the Kerch Strait area were coordinated by two officers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) who were aboard the ships involved in the incident, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday. [...]

Russia's Federal Security circulated video footage on Monday where a detained Ukrainian naval officer admits that he recognized the provocative nature of the actions of the Ukrainian navy during the incident in the Kerch Strait. According to the FSB, the officer in the video is Capt. 3rd Rank Volodymir Lesovoy — commander of an auxiliary ship unit at the Yug (South) naval base of the Ukrainian n [...]

The Ukrainian army on Sunday opened up with massive artillery fire, shelling residential areas of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), an RIA Novosti correspondent has reported. The shelling began at about 19:50 GMT, according to the correspondent. The Ukrainian army is using various weapons, including heavy artillery. [...]

The volume of trade between Russia and South Africa increased by 26 percent to almost $800 million in the first nine months of this year, according to Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dmitry Kobylkin. [...]