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. [...]

NASA managed to convince the White House to ‘temporarily’ lift the travel ban imposed on Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin so he could pay a visit to the US, the head of NASA said on Friday. NASA “succeeded” in temporarily “removing” the head of the Russian national space agency ‘Roscosmos’ from the sanctions list, Jim Bridenstine told TASS news agency. [...]

The Arctic is becoming an arena for a fierce competition to control transportation routes & natural resources of global importance. The upcoming Trident Juncture exercise is NATO’s attempt to demonstrate dominance in the region. NATO says that Russia has nothing to worry about, because the exercise – which will be held in Norway and Iceland between October 25 and November 23 – “doesn� [...]

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Thursday that Moscow and Beijing are working on an inter-governmental agreement to boost the use of the ruble and yuan in mutual trade settlements. “The document is currently being prepared, the process is not easy,” said Deputy Minister of Russia’s Economic Development Sergey Gorkov, as quoted by TASS. [...]

New Avangard hypersonic glider warheads are just months away from entering military service, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that Russia is the first in the world to develop the breakthrough technology. A hypersonic glider is a type of projectile that can fly and maneuver in the upper atmosphere at speeds of over Mach 5. [...]

Ukraine pursues the same policy against its own people that cost Georgia to lose territory after then-leader Mikhail Saakashvili’s war on Ossetia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, warning Kiev not to go down the same road. The Ukrainian authorities are not just leading the situation into a deadlock, they are pursuing an anti-state and anti-national policy,” the Russian leader said, speak [...]

Washington’s aggressive policy against Moscow could be a sufficient reason behind the recent fall of the dollar’s share of global central-bank reserves, according to economist at US multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs.  Russia’s Central Bank has sold some $85 billion of its $150 billion holding of the US assets from April through June after the US Treasury Department announced new s [...]

Keen as ever on his idea of creating an American fighting force in space, US President Donald Trump has said it's a necessity for Washington, because its perceived top adversaries – Russia and China – are beating it to the punch. [...]

The minister-president of the state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania in northern Germany has lambasted critics of the gas pipeline project, who didn’t play with “open cards,” and rejected claims that the venture would make her country fully dependent of Russia as “nonsense.” [...]

Danish lawmakers have gone on the offensive against interference in public debate, sparking criticism that a new proposal, which could entail criminal liability for expressing opinions similar to those of Moscow, may become a step toward silencing public debate. According to a bill brought forward in local parliament, Danes could face a jail term if they voice dissent over the government's posi [...]

The USS Harry Truman, a 104,000 ton Nimitz-class aircraft carrier capable of deploying some 90 combat and support aircraft, has entered the North Sea in preparation for Trident Juncture, a series of drills which are expected to become the largest alliance exercises in the region since the Cold War. [...]

A recent worldwide opinion poll conducted by Pew Research Center shows that Vladimir Putin enjoys more trust than Donald Trump, and analysts blame this fact on America’s selfish and reckless foreign policy. Trade wars with key economic partners, continuing military operations abroad, and the ongoing split among US political elites have been thought to do little for the president’s image. This [...]

The Russian Ministry of Finance said on Monday it may shift to the use of local currencies with European trade partners. The move will be part of the so-called de-dollarization of the Russian economy. As we can see the main opportunity which can be realized in the short and medium term is the transition to settlements in national currencies with our European counterparts, including settlements inv [...]

Sanctions against Russia’s key energy companies would inevitably lead to a collapse of the European energy sector, BP CEO Bob Dudley has warned, according to Sputnik news agency. “I do not think that would happen. If sanctions were put on Rosneft or Gazprom or LUKoil like what happened with Rusal, you would virtually shut down the energy systems of Europe, it is a bit of extreme thing to happe [...]

Russia's Defense Ministry has released a new batch of videos of cutting-edge weapons, first unveiled by President Vladimir Putin back in March. The footage shows new tests, as well as gives a grasp of the development process. The impressive set of new weapons was unveiled by Putin during his annual speech before the Federation Council back in March. [...]

New footage of the delivery of the Russian S-300 air defense system to the Syrian military has been published by the Russian Defense Ministry’s television channel. The video from Zvezda TV shows the arrival of the Russian An-124 Ruslan transport plane to an airfield in Syria and the unloading of the system’s components by Russian troops. [...]