On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry accused the US and the UK of supplying toxic agents to terrorists based on evidence found in Aleppo and a Damascus suburb. Sputnik Radio spoke with political scientist Dr. Kevin Barrett about the significance of this discovery and whether it could become a turning point in the Syrian conflict. [...]

Apple boss Tim Cook has become the latest executive to speak out against US President Donald Trump over Charlottesville violent protests. Tim Cook has criticized Donald Trump and his handling of the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, August 12, after a white nationalist rally turned ugly. [...]

America’s chronic trade deficit with the rest of the world is testimony to a failed US economy. In reality, the US has no-one else to blame but itself for such an historic failure. But in typical chauvinist fashion, the Trump administration has found a handy scapegoat by blaming China — its top bilateral trading partner. President Donald Trump this week ordered a probe into alleged tr [...]

It’s not every day that you’ll hear a news anchor be so upfront about the media’s worst proclivities — but last week, NBC anchor Brian Williams told a panel of guests that the media’s job was to “scare people to death” about North Korea. Keep in mind that Williams is the same anchor who was widely ridiculed for waxing lyrical about the “beauty” of American missiles back in Ap [...]

The discovery of toxic agents manufactured by US and UK companies in the territories liberated from terrorists has once again revealed the hypocrisy of the US-led coalition, Ammar Waqqaf, a Middle East expert told Radio Sputnik, adding that it is not the first time jihadists have been spotted using poisonous substances in Syria. [...]

Previously obedient European allies of Washington have openly criticized Donald Trump's policy toward North Korea, political commentator Rostislav Ishchenko writes, adding that for the first time since the Second World War "the West" is split over the issue of war and peace. Washington's ramping up of the war of words with Pyongyang hasn't got the backing of the EU, RIA Novosti contributor [...]

A British writer and journalist Edward Lucas, one of the pioneers of the theory presenting Russia as an existential threat to the US and the European Union, several years ago coined the term of “whataboutism.” The term is supposed to denote the inclination of Russian media to question the moral ground of Western accusations against Russia by pointing to the West's own failures: "What ab [...]

Will World War III kick off this week because of the bellicose actions of a buffoonish leader with a dodgy hair-cut and his sinister nuclear-armed warmongering rogue state?  Or, can Donald Trump and the US be deterred? Of course, in State Department-friendly Western media, it’s North Korea and its leadership who are routinely portrayed as the nut jobs. [...]

The German Social Democrats' candidate for chancellor, Martin Schulz, has called US President Donald Trump “an irresponsible man,” saying he is “sinking to the level of a North Korean dictator.” [...]

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump wrote via Twitter that the US nuclear arsenal was stronger and more powerful than ever before. The statement has come amid the ever-growing tensions between the United States and North Korea. Answering the question of whether Trump has been able to increase and upgrade the US nuclear arsenal, Schultz said: [...]

The United States is ready to use the "full range" of its capabilities if provoked by North Korea, the country's top military officer said, noting that Washington is still hoping for a "peaceful resolution" to the crisis. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made clear on Monday that Washington is ready "to use the full range of military capabilities to defend [...]

Washington has once again misread Moscow, not expecting that a series of anti-Russia measures adopted under the Obama and Trump administration would result in the large-scale expulsion of US diplomats from Russia, Pavel Salin, the director of the Center for Political Studies at Moscow's Financial University, told Radio Sputnik. [...]

Russia will only stand to gain from US sanctions, which also threaten to sour Washington’s relations with its European partners, political analyst Dmitry Solonnikov told Sputnik. "The sanctions will not only have negative consequences for Russia, but will also hurt Europe and the US itself.   [...]

The German media has characterized US arms deliveries to Ukraine as a nightmare. In an interview with Sputnik, political analyst Igor Shatrov said that this opinion is shared by all Europeans who have fallen victim to Washington’s sanctions. [...]

New penalties against Moscow proposed by US lawmakers violate international law and officials in Brussels should consider countermeasures, the German economy minister said on Monday. "We consider this as being against international law, plain and simple,"Brigitte Zypries told the Funke Mediengruppe newspaper chain. [...]

Since the presidency of Barack Obama, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has demanded arms supplies from the US. However, the prospect of Washington satisfying Kiev's request frightens Germany and France, Deutschlandfunk radio station reported. [...]

Germany's gold bars have been kept abroad since the end of the WWII. The activist campaign "Bring our gold back home!" demands the return of the gold reserves to German soil. The process of repatriation is already underway. In early 2017, it was reported that Germany's Bundesbank had repatriated almost half its gold reserves from abroad. [...]

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US-Russia ties are "at an all-time" and "very dangerous" low. Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare!" Trump said in a Twitter statement a day after he signed into law the US sanctions bill targeting Russia. [...]

The new Russian Sanctions law (officially named the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act”) is hardcore, but the worst of it may cripple the U.S. Space Program and harm U.S. national security and the U.S. economy. It all depends on how Russian President Putin decides to respond. The most obvious target will be NASA and companies in the U.S. Defense Industrial Base that h [...]

The strategy of US neocons is to get closer to the Russian bear until it finally becomes aggressive. If not, they will at least scare the population and other countries into greater military spending, explains international affairs commentator Marko Gasic. [...]

Rex Tillerson’s mind-boggling claim the US wants to hurt Russia with sanctions to help foster better relations is arguably just a sign of a greater problem in the Trump administration, which seems struggling to form a consistent foreign policy. [...]

Washington does not seek regime change in North Korea and at some point would like to have a dialogue with Pyongyang to de-escalate the tensions on the peninsula, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said. [...]