With today's shooting down of a Russian SU24 by Turkey, the war in Syria just took a new twist - and one that sends a powerful message to the UK as it contemplates joining in bombing raids on Islamic State militants. And for those who are hard of hearing, that message is: 'keep well out!' Up until now, the war in Syria has looked complicated. On the one side the Syrian state led by President Basha [...]

Offering a dramatic window into the fractious and complex geopolitics that are now swirling around the war against the Islamic State inside Syria and Iraq, the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey on Tuesday was also followed by the release of footage showing a Russian military helicopter being destroyed by Syrian rebel forces armed with U.S.-supplied anti-tank missiles. [...]

Turkey has been consistent in pursuing its own agenda: to pretend to be fighting ISIS while settling scores with one of the two parties that are actually capable of fighting ISIS on the ground – the Kurds, says Foreign Affairs Editor Srdja Trifkovic. As a Russian Su-24 fighter jet operating over Syria was shot down, RT discussed with experts the reasons and possible consequences of this incid [...]

Turkey has taken responsibility for shooting down a Russian fighter jet near the border with neighboring Syria on Tuesday, as both Moscow and Ankara put forth conflicting narratives about what led to the incident which has sparked an emergency meeting of NATO allies and strong rebuke from Russian President Vladimir Putin. [...]

A Russian warplane has gone down near the Turkish-Syrian border after an apparent attack. Turkish and Russian sources have given conflicting reports about the incident, which has the potential to escalate the tension between Russia and NATO member Turkey.   [...]

The Russian-led anti-terrorist campaign in Syria has taken center stage at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Tehran, where President Putin met with Iranian leaders and praised their country’s role in rooting out terrorism in the region. [...]

The process of delivery of Russian S-300 anti-missile rocket system to Iran has started, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow said in an interview. Iran is getting one of the latest versions of the air defence complex. The delivery has gotten underway, ambassador Mehdi Sanaei told Etemaad Persian-language daily, as cited by Tasnim news agency. [...]

Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk is responsible for numerous war crimes committed by the Ukrainian military and law enforcement and sooner or later will face a trial, the spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee has said. “Yatsenyuk was among many well-known persons, including top military officers, who personally issued orders to fire upon the civilian population of Donbass,” Vladim [...]

The Ukrainian government has suspended the movement of cargo between Crimea and Ukraine, citing an initiative put forward by PM Arseny Yatsenyuk. The suspension will be active until a list of goods allowed to be delivered to the peninsula is compiled. The decision was preceded by a request from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday which wanted to look into the possibility of a tempora [...]

Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev has blamed the strengthening of terrorist group Islamic State on “irresponsible” US policies in the Middle East, calling for all nations to stop attempting to destabilize the situation in sovereign countries for their own purposes. “Instead of concentrating their common efforts on fighting terrorism, the United States and their allies have started to oppose Syri [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree lifting the ban on supplying Iran with uranium enrichment equipment. It is linked to Russia importing enriched uranium from Iran, according to the official government website. The Russian President is visiting Tehran to take part in Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit, and is holding talks on Monday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and [...]

Russian airstrikes have torched more than 1,000 tankers taking stolen crude oil to Islamic State refineries. This blow against the jihadists comes as the Russian Air Force has hit 472 terrorist targets in two days in Syria, making 141 sorties. All Russian aircraft have successfully returned to the Khmeimim airbase near Latakia, Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense M [...]

Apparently being unable to find any footage of the US Air Force strikes against Islamic State’s oil infrastructure, PBS NewsHour spliced Russian Defense Ministry’s video into their report – but it did not go unnoticed. he PBS report last week used two objective control videos made by Russian drones while Sukhoi bombers based at Khmeimim airfield in Latakia bombed out an oil storage facili [...]

Situation in Syria has improved after Russia had started its air campiagn, president Assad told SANA. "The situation in Syria has improved since the beginning of the Russian operation against terrorists," Bashar al-Assad said. "And now I can say that the [Syrian] army is making advancement on every front." [...]

On Saturday, Ukrainian police said that power lines in southern Ukraine supplying the Crimean peninsula with electricity were blown up by activists from the group which launched the unsuccessful, Kiev-sanctioned 'food blockade' of the peninsula in September. Sputnik brings you up to speed on the energy blockade and its potential consequences. [...]

Russia’s stance on Syria changed after it was directly attacked by ISIL, according to France’s Defense Minister. According to French Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft have been launching significant strikes against the Islamic State positions in Syria. [...]

The United States is continuing to buy Russian rocket engines which it once added to the list of sanctions, said Alexander Stadnik, Russia's trade representative to the US. The ban was lifted when the US realized its dependence on Russian rockets for its space program, according to him. [...]

Russia is selling China high performance aircraft as an answer to America’s actions around Asia, Conn Hallinan from Foreign Policy in Focus, told RT. Beijing has signed a deal with Moscow for Sukhoi fighter jets. China will buy 24 cutting-edge SU-35s. China is the first foreign sale of the multipurpose aircraft. [...]

The Russian fleet in the Caspian Sea has launched 18 cruise missiles, hitting seven terrorist targets in Syria on Friday, Russian Defense Minster Sergey Shoigu has reported to President Vladimir Putin. “On November 20, the warships of the Caspian Fleet launched 18 cruise missiles at seven targets in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo. All targets were hit successfully,” he said. [...]

As entire demographic segments across the West wake up to the fact that their governments are heavily influenced by outside interests, many are looking to Russia – and Putin in particular – to pull the fat out of the fire. But is this realistic? If you hear the same story enough times you end up thinking there is no other. [...]

Around 500 fuel tanker vehicles transporting illegal oil from Syria to Iraq for processing have been destroyed by Russia’s Air Forces, the General Staff said. “In recent years, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other extremist groups have organized the operations of the so-called ‘pipeline on wheels’ on the territories they control,” Russian General Staff spokesman Colonel Ge [...]

The Russian economy and the financial sector are quite stable despite falling oil prices, a weaker ruble and sanction’s pressure, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on Wednesday.   [...]