Russia will deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the US, Kommersant daily reports. The reason for the deal is the sharp rise in gas prices on the east coast of the US. An LNG tanker belonging to French energy company Engie is now shipping from the British port of Isle of Grain to an American terminal, Everett, located near Boston. [...]

WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has allegedly been issued an Ecuadorian ID in a bid to end his 5-year confinement. The UK Foreign Office reportedly rejected a request from Quito to grant the whistleblower diplomatic status. [...]

The Russian economy has recovered and is growing, according to President Vladimir Putin. Last year, Russian GDP grew after the recession of 2015 and 2016. The positive dynamic in the Russian economy goes on. We have a lower than expected budget deficit; our gold and foreign exchange reserves are growing.   [...]

The number of crimes committed by “foreigners” in Austria increased to 40 percent of the total in 2016, a new government report says. Interior Minister Herbert Kickl says a “strict asylum policy” is needed to tackle the issue. [...]

Russians are everywhere, and everything they do is an existential threat to democracy and the American way of life. So says the 200-page report published by Senate Democrats on behalf of one of the most outspoken Russia hawks. [...]

The Trump administration is expected to reveal a new, hawkish nuclear doctrine, which reportedly incorporates more cases in which it would use nuclear weapons, and also mandates the development of smaller-yield, simpler warheads. [...]

The CIA has been coordinating weapon deliveries on the Turkey-Syria border, German journalist Jurgen Todenhofer, who recently spoke with a Jabhat al-Nusra commander, told RT. He added that the US knows that the weapons it delivers to rebels end up with terrorists. [...]

The Pentagon said it is “concerned” about weapons falling into terrorists’ hands after Moscow said the drones used in the attacks on Russian bases in Syria could have only been supplied by a “technologically advanced state.” [...]

Ukraine’s President Poroshenko has praised the US and Canada for approving lethal arms supplies, while Moscow says it subverts the peace process. By including Ukraine on the list of countries approved for lethal weapons sales, Canada has become a side in a bloody civil war, undermining a shaky peace process, a senior Russian senator said, as Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko applauded the m [...]

The question whether Western leaders promised the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand east has been debated for years. Newly declassified papers prove what many Western officials and scholars have denied: A promise was broken. [...]

More and more Americans are speculating that there may be something behind the Kushner family’s deepening business ties with Israel, especially given that Jared Kushner's father-in-law made the controversial decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, provoking condemnation among the world's Muslims and violent rage among Palestinians. [...]

Amid Israeli officials’ concerns over pervasive humanitarian fallout, on Sunday Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), should cease to exist. [...]

Baroness Cox, a member of the House of Lords, shared her views on the future of Syria, highlighting Russia’s success in “expelling” terrorist groups from the country and giving the Syrian people the right to choose their own future. At the same time in a revealing interview to Sputnik she expressed her concerns (and hopes) with UK policy in Syria. [...]

The tough US rhetoric towards Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia can be explained by Washington's deep dissatisfaction over its failure in Syria, Guy Mettan, a Swiss politician and president of the Swiss Press Club, told Radio Sputnik, suggesting that the US is trying to hijack Moscow's diplomatic success. [...]

Russian General Staff Chief Army General Valery Gerasimov said that there was movement of militants from the US base in Syria’s At-Tanf, which is currently fully blocked by the Syrian army. “In At-Tanf the area is blocked by the Syrian troops … The most important thing is that we witness movement of militants from there,” Gerasimov said. [...]

The US ambassador to the United Nations has fallen victim to a phone prank perpetrated by a famous Russian duo, with whom she discussed the affairs of a fictional South China Sea island nation and the alleged harassment of the Ukrainian president by Kevin Spacey. [...]

Moscow baffled by American and French statements over US-led coalition’s 'decisive role' in defeating Islamic State in Syria. “The defeat of IS in Syria is first of all result of actions by the Syrian leadership and governmental forces,” the ministry said. [...]

Jim Jatras comments on the Washington Post report that President Donald Trump has approved providing lethal weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces. Specifically, according to the report, the decision opens the door for delivery of items like Model M107A1 sniper systems and ammunition, plus associated parts and equipment, with a value of $41.5 million [...]

Charles Shoebridge takes a look at some of the last year’s security and foreign policy developments: on Trump, Syria, Israel, "Russia meddling", terrorist attacks. While perhaps forced to do so by the reality of the battlefield, Trump did honor his pledge to stop US funding and arming of Syria’s rebels. With it largely at an end, the massive scale of the arming program was at last publicly rev [...]

The United States doesn’t let anyone see its gold reserves. Even if the Treasury has the number of billions it claims, they are not tradable, warns Singapore’s BullionStar precious metals expert Ronan Manly. [...]

Beijing has stepped up its "railway diplomacy" by boosting its infrastructural projects simultaneously on three continents. Speaking to Sputnik, analysts highlighted China's competitive advantages and shed light on the obstacles the People's Republic is facing while implementing its initiatives. [...]

The new accusations add to the string of charges of alleged US-led coalition cooperation with Daesh (ISIS), contrary to its proclained goal of fighting terrorism in Syria. [...]