The volume of trade between Russia and Germany has been growing and reached US$39 billion in the first eight months of 2018, according to documents prepared by the Kremlin’s press service. “In January-August 2018, Russian-German trade increased by 24 percent (adding $7.5 billion) compared with the same period in 2017,” the document says, detailing that “Russian exports to Germany rose by 3 [...]

A key component of Russia’s future nuclear space propulsion system, which may revolutionize long-range exploration of the solar system, has been successfully tested, RIA Novosti reported. Since at least 2009, Russian space and atomic engineers have been developing a special space propulsion system, which uses a 1 megawatt nuclear fusion reactor as source of energy. [...]

Despite Washington's threats to impose sanctions on states buying military equipment from Moscow, many of them, such as Turkey, India and Indonesia, still stick with Russian weaponry, citing its outstanding quality. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin explained in an interview with Sputnik why many states around the world prefer to buy Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense systems over U [...]

The United States will pursue the development of a nuclear weapon stockpile until Russia and China come to their senses. This is what US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. President Trump complained that Moscow has not done enough to adhere to the INF treaty. Sputnik discussed Washington's intentions behind the tentative INF withdrawal with Paul Craig Roberts, a prominent American ec [...]

The new European Right are likely to bring an end to EU expansionism towards Russia's borders and finally seal a post-Cold War settlement between Moscow and the West, Glenn Diesen, professor at the Higher School of Economics, has told Sputnik. The Bavarian 2018 landtag vote has yet again confirmed that right-wing conservatives and patriots are increasingly commanding support among the European pu [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that Russia has expressed a desire to receive economic assistance from the United States and also commended his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I had a great meeting with Vladimir Putin, great meeting. [...]

The latest loan agreement between the two countries dates back to 2009 and has been twice prolonged since then. Russia will lend Cuba over $50 million for purchases of Russian military equipment, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, citing two sources in the sphere of technical and military cooperation. [...]

China’s LNG demand grew by a record 8 mt in 2017 and is set to expand by another record 12 mt this year, making up 50 percent of all global LNG demand growth, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a new report last week. The country’s spike in LNG usage comes as Beijing pushes forward with its plan to offset coal usage of both industrial and residential end users in an effort to curb rampa [...]

Moscow sees the US decision to quit the historic INF accord as an “objective fact” and has started working on responses to claims of pact violations, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. [...]

Russia is preparing to defend itself against aggression while Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty signals that the US is readying for a war, according to Andrei Belousov, a top Russian Foreign Ministry official. Sputnik talked this over with Tony Kevin, a former Australian diplomat and author of the book "Return to Moscow." [...]

A minute-by-minute account of the Il-20 downing shows Israel's culpability and either its military bosses' lack of appreciation of relations with Moscow, or their control of commanding officers, the Russian defense ministry said. [...]

By coming to Saturday’s summit in Istanbul, European leaders are admitting that Russia is now dictating the terms on Syria. But Vladimir Putin’s 3-year gambit won’t be vindicated until a resolution comes in Idlib and beyond. [...]

Crimea's largest bank will write off loans taken out by the families of the victims who died in the bloodiest school shooting in Russia’s history last week in the city of Kerch. “Russian National Commercial Bank is ready to write off all the unpaid loans to families of those who died in a polytechnic college in Kerch if the relatives apply for the procedure,” the lender, which operates mo [...]

US President Donald Trump threatned Russia and China that Washington intends to build up its nuclear arsenal until “people come to their senses.” The president said his words were directed towards Moscow and Beijing, as he prepared to unilaterally leave the Intermediate Nuclear Forces in Europe (INF) treaty. [...]

Europe should stop backing a Russia-led project to deliver natural gas to the continent, according to US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell. However, not all the European nations agree. [...]

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who signed the INF treaty with then-US President Ronald Reagan, says Washington’s move to withdraw from it is a “mistake” and “a narrow-minded” decision. [...]

If the US ditches the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), it could collapse the entire nuclear non-proliferation system, and bring nuclear war even closer, Russian officials warn. [...]

The Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out over 40,000 missions, including over 21,000 sorties during the night time, in the course of their operation in Syria, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the fifth ASEAN and Dialogue Partners Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM-Plus) in Singapore.   [...]

The new European Right are likely to bring an end to EU expansionism towards Russia's borders and finally seal a post-Cold War settlement between Moscow and the West, Glenn Diesen, professor at the Higher School of Economics, has told Sputnik. [...]

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to exit the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty next week. The treaty, signed in 1987 by the US and the USSR, was one of the key steps in the de-escalation of the Cold War, yet US President Donald Trump plans to tell Russian authorities that the US is planning to terminate the agreement, The New York Timesreported Fr [...]

Earlier reports suggested that the deal between Moscow and Jakarta could fall under the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), despite attempts to secure a waiver for Indonesia. [...]

Inconvenient thoughts on Cold War and other news. Intelligence agencies, Nikki Haley, sanctions, and public opinion. 1. National intelligence agencies have long played major roles, often not entirely visible, in international politics. [...]