Russia has decided not to participate in the increase in the World Bank's lending capacity and with good reason, analysts told Sputnik, suggesting that it doesn't seem logical for Moscow to fund the institution amid the US-led sanctions spree aimed against Russia. The World Bank's assets are being directed to fund reforms beneficial to transnational corporations, including those from the US, Va [...]

While Washington is challenging the multipolar world with unilateral actions, Europe has vowed to challenge its hegemony. However, it has not enough character and political will to fit the role, former UK MP George Galloway says. The US decision to pull out from the long-weaved nuclear deal with Iran prompted the EU to consider replacing its overseas ally “as an international actor.” [...]

An upcoming Wuhan summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to bring the relationship between China and India – Russia's allies – to a new level. Washington's assertive foreign policy prompted Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi to team up. [...]

The Russian Defense Ministry earlier reported that Pantsir-S1 systems have shown near 100% efficiency during the US, UK and French strike against Syria, when 71 out of 103 missiles were intercepted. Sputnik reveals why the Pantsir system is so effective. Multiple Locator Radars Linked in a Single System. Before any air-defense system can function, it must first be able to see its target. For thi [...]

Aeroflot has been named the most powerful airline brand in the world by leading valuation and strategy consultancy, Brand Finance, with the Russian company “surprisingly” leaving reputable American and Gulf carriers behind. The young fleet's excellent safety record and sponsorship of football giant Manchester United, as well as successful marketing in Asia put Aeroflot ahead among nine global [...]

Ever wish you could choose your seatmate during a long flight? Russia's UTair Airlines will allow its passengers to pick who they sit beside. The company will tool up its mobile application with a new option so that UTair clientele can see the gender of co-passengers on the seat selection page. The step will reportedly help travelers find love in the air. [...]

Around 600 participants from 71 countries met in Crimea at the 4th Yalta International Economic Forum to discuss global co-operation and the building of a better world. This was the real ‘international community,’ as opposed to the pretend one restricted to just the US and its closest allies. [...]

I’ve been consistently suspicious and critical of the “Russia conspiracy trap”.  At the same time, I am an historian and a journalist who always wants to know what happened, and who has, I hope, the decency not to close my mind in advance of the facts.  “The truth,” a Russian named Lenin is supposed to have said, “is always revolutionary.” It never serves the people’s cause for a [...]

Russia’s envoy to the OPCW said it was crucial to avoid new false-flag attacks in Syria and that Moscow “won’t allow” US military action there, as he described details of Russian findings on the site of the alleged Douma incident. New false-flag operations against Damascus are “possible, since our American partners are once again threatening to take military action against Syria, but we [...]

Exports of Russian-produced aviation equipment surged by 46 percent in 2017 against the previous year, according to the latest report from the trade ministry. At the same time, production level in the sector grew by 12 percent to $7.538 billion. In 2017, Russian producers built and sold 133 planes and 213 helicopters, including SSJ-100 passenger planes, the twin-engine, two-seat fighter jet Su-30S [...]

The US Treasury Department sanctions aimed at Russian-based RUSAL may have made a splash in the wrong direction, as companies from US allies in Europe have had to deal with supply disruptions. Layoffs and further difficulties are looming. [...]

The US-led strike in Syria was conducted in the wake of unverified reports about an alleged chemical attack in Douma, despite the fact that the probe into the incident was only due to start. Moscow has repeatedly called on Western states to work with investigators from the chemical weapons watchdog to determine if gas had been indeed used. [...]

The Central Bank of Russia keeps all its bullion at home, since only in Russia can its gold be completely safe, according to Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets. Answering a question about Turkey’s decision to repatriate its gold from the US Federal Reserve, Aksakov said: "We do not have a gold reserve in the US, we have only Forex (foreign exchange) re [...]

Pyongyang’s move to halt nuclear and missile tests is more the result of collective efforts, including that of Russia and China, than US threats to “wipe off the map” North Korea, a top Russian senator says. [...]

Russian servicemen have found another evidence of manufacturing of military poisonous substances by Jaish al-Islam terrorists in the Syrian town of Douma, where on April 7 a false-flag attack took place, serving as a pretext for the US and allies to blame the government and strike the country. [...]

More than 90 percent of Germans want better relations with Russia, while more than three-quarters think US President Donald Trump represents a greater threat to world peace than Vladimir Putin, a new poll says. Painting Russia as a boogeyman and a threat to the West has been the narrative of both the mainstream media and a number of Western states for some time. [...]

Following the US-led bombardment of Syria last week over an alleged chemical attack by Damascus, Russia says it has no reason to not supply its S-300 missile system to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.  Moscow agreed with its international partners about 10 years ago to not deliver the S-300 to Damascus. [...]

Russia's Crimea is hosting the 2018 Yalta Economic Forum. The event is being held just a few weeks after several European nations decided to expel Russian diplomats and to follow Washington’s lead in toughening sanctions against Moscow. Austria wasn’t among the «hardliners». Sputnik sat down with Detlef Wimmer – the deputy mayor of Austria’s Linz. [...]

The situation in Syria is like a "terrible sci-fi film" which is guaranteed to have a bad ending "if the main character is Donald Trump," the chairperson of Germany's Die Linke party said during a discussion in the Bundestag. The Wednesday comments by Sahra Wagenknecht of Die Linke (Left Party) came on the same day that the party held a rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest a [...]

Orders for Russian-made weaponry surged significantly in 2017 with Russia’s state weapons exporter clinching deals worth $15 billion with 53 nations, according to the company’s director general and CEO Aleksandr Mikheev. The company’s order portfolio saw fresh growth after a 2016 decline, when Rosoboronexport signed contracts worth just $9.5 billion. The current stock of orders is reportedly [...]

The Central Bank of Russia has sold $3.1 billion in US Treasury bills as of February, reducing its investment in American debt to the lowest level since March last year. Moscow still occupies the 16th position among the largest holders of US government bonds. Russia has cut its holdings for the third consecutive month. [...]

A new terminal opened at Crimea’s Simferopol International Airport on Monday, when the spaceship-like complex welcomed its first flight from Moscow. The facility is located 6km from the old airport it replaces. It was built in 22 months and covers an area of 78,000 square meters. The hub can handle 3,650 passengers per hour or 6.5 million per year. The annual passenger flow is expected to gradua [...]