“Trump or no Trump, Europe needs to build a defense system of its own,” the center-right presidential candidate, said in an interview with Le Monde. François Fillon wants to make Europe less dependent on the United States and favors the idea of a European-Russian conference to discuss new security provisions in Europe. [...]

The US-backed ‘interim president’ of Venezuela Juan Guaido isn’t violating the 30-day constitutional limit because the legislature backing him voted to make it not apply, ‘explained’ the US special envoy Elliott Abrams. [...]

In their first phone conversation that lasted nearly an hour, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the new US President Donald Trump have outlined their intent to cooperate on issues ranging from defeating Islamic State to mending bilateral economic ties. [...]

A group of Russian military personnel arrived in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on 23 March to participate in consultations with government officials on bilateral defence industry cooperation as the ongoing political crisis in the Latin American country has heated up. [...]

Speaking to Sputnik, Neve Gordon, visiting Professor of Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees Donald Trump's presidency as carte blanche for Tel Aviv to act in the occupied territories. [...]

Even as Washington is wooing New Delhi, India is seeking to buy Russian-made military hardware. The most recent deal would see the purchase of more than 450 tanks from Moscow for $1.93 billion, and it's not even the biggest one. [...]

Commenting on the recent US media reports that nearly two-thirds of US Navy's strike fighters can't fly due to undergoing maintenance and that there is a lack of funds available to fix them, Russian defense analysts explain what might be behind such reports. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US government is ending sanctions waivers for Iranian oil importers to provoke a violent insurrection or establish a casus belli for an external invasion, former UK Ambassador Peter Ford told Sputnik. [...]

NATO needs to change its mission and the NATO-Russian Council should be revitalized, said former Pentagon official, Michael Maloof. Defense analyst, Ivan Eland, said Russia would like to know it is not facing a hostile alliance right on its borders. [...]

The United States on Monday announced its decision to halt shipments of F-35-related equipment due to Ankara's plans to purchase Russia's S-400 missile defence system. Turkey, a US-NATO ally, has been planning to purchase 100 F-35 fighter jets from the US. Sputnik discussed this with Oliver Steward, a political strategist from the UK. [...]

The number of civilian casualties from airstrikes by the US-led coalition in the Iraqi city of Mosul exceeds the numbers reported by the media during the operation to retake Aleppo by Syrian and Russian forces, the London-based Airwars monitoring group has said. [...]

A US federal judge declined Wednesday to preliminarily enjoin a congressional subpoena for US President Donald Trump's financial records, ruling that Deutsche Bank was free to comply with the demand. [...]

The Syrian Army says its air defenses have shot down one Israeli warplane and hit a second after four planes breached Syrian airspace and attacked government troops near Palmyra Friday morning. The Israeli military has denied the claims. Syrian military officials and observers told Sputnik that the incident sends an important message to Israel. [...]

US citizens are weary of endless wars, Virginia State Senator Richard Black believes. He warned President Donald Trump against dragging the country into another one with Iran, and blamed John Bolton for being the top warmonger. [...]

A recent deadly airstrike on a boat in the Red Sea carrying Somali refugees was likely a war crime, Human Rights Watch said. The strike off the Yemeni coast is believed to have been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. [...]

Washington has unleashed a fresh barrage of threats against Tehran, with US President Donald Trump warning it against “playing with fire” and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo branding it a “top sponsor of terrorism.” Fresh from rekindling his strange bromance with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, Trump has returned to his war-mongering ways, leveling a vague new warning at Iran. [...]

In democracies, the demos, the people, rule; not social or economic elites. This was the understanding of philosophers in Athens twenty-five centuries ago, and it remained the consensus view well into the modern era. The received wisdom was that, like anarchy, democracy is a theoretical possibility that can be instructive to reflect upon, but not an ideal that anyone of sound mind would actuall [...]

Huawei has laid off around 70 percent of staff at its Futurewei Technologies research arm in the US. Despite recent signals that Washington was easing pressure on the Chinese tech giant, the ban is still in force. [...]

Theresa May would fire Britain’s nuclear weapons as a ‘first strike’ if necessary, the Defence Secretary has said. Michael Fallon said the Prime Minister was prepared to launch Trident in “the most extreme circumstances”, even if Britain itself was not under nuclear attack. The statement came as the Conservatives continued to exploit Labour divisions on the retention of the Trident deter [...]

Beijing has blasted US President Donald Trump’s claims that China is a “currency manipulator,” and promised to halt the import of US agricultural goods after the White House announced plans to slap 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports from September. [...]

RT wishes to make a formal complaint in relation to the Reuters article headlined “U.S. increasingly convinced that Russia hacked French election: sources.” Despite the severity of the accusations levied against RT in the report, via statements made by anonymous and thus unaccountable “U.S. officials,” namely, that RT has spread “fake news” in its coverage of the French election, Re [...]

Washington ending the INF arms control treaty has raised fears of a new “arms race.” This time it will be about more than just missiles, with China presenting strong competition to the US and Russia, a military expert tells RT. [...]