The UN-sponsored Syrian peace talks, which began on Friday in Geneva, will be boycotted by the main Syrian opposition group which has insisted that Russia stop bombing its positions while negotiations are conducted. To appreciate how ridiculous these demands are, one would have to imagine a similar scenario taking place in the United States. [...]

Europe should reach out to Russia and abandon “counterproductive” economic sanctions – or risk seeing it drifting further towards China, former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has warned, in a candid interview. [...]

Syrian government forces make major battlefield gains against foreign-backed opposition. Simultaneously negotiators representing the main opposition groups refuse to return to peace talks in Geneva until their demands are met. Among those conditions were that the Syrian Army cease bombardments, in effect cease operations, in and around areas it has just recaptured. [...]

French President Emmanuel Macron referred to nationalism as a “betrayal of patriotism” in pointed Armistice Day remarks that many consider to have been specifically directed at US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policies, according to several reports. [...]

Many Middle Eastern countries have repeatedly expressed their desire to purchase large shipments of Russian T-90 tanks. If not a direct opposition from Washington, this machine possibly would have become indispensable in Arab East and in Iran. [...]

Much has been made of the possible geopolitical motivations behind the decision to price the $5 billion Russian-Indian S-400 deal in roubles, and Moscow and Beijing are eyeing another rouble/yuan-based trade compact. However, Sputnik has discovered that there's also a purely economic reason for the three countries to move away from the dollar. [...]

President Obama has a bee in his bonnet about Putin and he keeps denying the reality, Professor Stephen F. Cohen, who wrote The Nation article ‘The Obama administration recklessly escalates confrontation with Russia’, told RT’s Ed Schultz. [...]

The US has said it will join Australia in the development of a naval base on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island to “protect the freedom of the seas,” in a move apparently aimed at curbing China’s presence in the Pacific. Australia, a staunch US ally in the Pacific, had already set its sights on Papua New Guinea’s Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island earlier in November, seeking to build a de [...]

During a telephone conversation with Shinzo Abe, US President Barack Obama urged the Prime Minister of Japan to refrain from visiting Russia in May, but Abe has refused his request. Obama and Abe spoke by telephone February 9, discussing North Korea. Two days earlier the northern state had launched a long-range rocket, violating UN resolutions and alarming the international community. [...]

An Afghan migrant has been arrested in Germany for allegedly slitting the throat of an elderly man whose home he worked in. The man’s daughter, a charity worker, had suggested he hire the asylum seeker. [...]

Researchers at Russia’s Altai State University have reportedly finished the second stage of testing of what may prove to be a viable longevity treatment. The scientists told media that the new medicine stimulates the body’s stem cell production, reinvigorates tissues and maintains them at levels which correspond with those of a biologically young organism. [...]

US President Donald Trump has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin which was due to take place at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Trump had previously cast doubt over whether the meeting would take place, telling the Washington Post on Wednesday that “maybe” he would cancel the tete-a-tete, citing the recent confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian [...]

Certain people in America’s defense establishment believe that only governments that do Washington's bidding are “truly legitimate.” Others have ideological reasons to stir up tensions with Russia. This fuels discord and creates an unstable world. Imagine if a major Russian media outlet carried an article with the headline, “How We Can Defeat Obama.” [...]

China is stepping up its involvement in Syria, not with its military, but with cash. For Beijing, war-torn Syria is an opportunity for reconstruction business. For Damascus, prosperity means peace.China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem have shown through their cordial  discussions that Beijing and Damascus are on the same page when it comes to envisaging the [...]

Russian military facilities are offering assistance to humanitarian organizations offering aid to people in Syria, saying their facilities and logistics specialists may be able to resolve the problems they face. The offer was made on Monday when the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the internationally sponsored truce between rebel groups and the Syrian government in Syria is mostly holdi [...]

Israeli PM and acting defense chief Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the capabilities of his air force a day after IDF jets endangered two civilian flights while carrying out Christmas Day strikes against ‘Iranian targets’ in Syria. [...]

Iran was ordered by a New York City judge to pay more than $10.5 billion in damages to the families of those killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bloomberg reported. US District Judge George Daniels ruled on Wednesday that Tehran must pay $7.5 billion to the families of people who died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. [...]

Vladimir Putin unveiled that Russia had developed a new type of weapon that flies faster than the speed of sound and looks like a “fireball” in March 2018. Less than a week before the start of 2019, information about its successful test launch was released. [...]

As Russia’s Vladimir Putin announced the start of the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported the anti-terror operation’s achievements to the Commander-in-Chief. "Backed by our aviation, Syrian forces have freed 400 populated areas and over 10,000 square kilometers [3,860 square miles] of territories," Shoigu said during a Kremlin meeting with R [...]

The current shutdown of the US government has become the longest in the nation’s history, as unpaid federal employees walk off the job in increasing numbers. An estimated 800,000 federal workers employed by the US government are starting to feel the pinch as Friday paychecks were missed and key travel security sectors — particularly in airports — are seeing walkouts, according to multiple re [...]

Sputnik looks at the key results and highlights of Russia's 5.5-month counterterrorist mission in Syria. Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the air campaign prevented terrorist plans to expand into Russia and other countries, as well as undermined their administrative system and economic potential. Earlier on March 15, two air groups involved in the Syrian mission left Hmeimim o [...]

Retail sales in China are poised to surge this year and exceed US retail by more than $100 billion, bringing it the crown as the top global retail market, according to a forecast by research firm eMarketer. [...]