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. [...]

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s attempt to falsely portray her Republican opponent Donald Trump as a racist extremist is absurd, silly and dangerous, former US Department of State diplomat Jim Jatras told Sputnik. On Thursday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told Fox News in an interview that Clinton’s campaign was full of anti-Russia hysteria as the Democrats were try [...]

Earlier this week, the French president called for the creation of a "real European army" to defend Europe against "China, Russia, and even the United States." French historian Dr. Edouard Husson has taken issue with Emmanuel Macron's interpretation of history in his remarks in Verdun on Tuesday, including Macron's call to protect Europe from Russia, which the president said was "on our bor [...]

The liberation of Aleppo by the Syrian Army delivers a "heavy blow" to all terrorist groups which have been fighting in the country for over four years, according to Argentine journalist Leandro Albani. Leandro has worked as a reporter in the Middle East for the magazine Sudestada and websites such as Resumen Latinoamericano and Marcha.org. [...]

If Germany and France get their wish of developing a European army, Austria wants no part of it. The defense minister's office said it would opt out, as it would conflict with Vienna's constitution and neutrality. [...]

A senior NATO general echoed the words of US President-elect Donald Trump in acknowledging that parts of the NATO military alliance are “obsolete,” saying it needs to adapt, but cited very different reasons and directions for change. [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the United States on Sunday for voting against the UN resolution condemning Israel for occupying the Golan Heights area located at the Israeli-Syrian border. "On Thursday, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman informed me on the US decision to vote against the regular resolution slamming us for our presence in the Golan Heights. [...]

Listen and you can hear the sneering “elite” liberal left narrative about how the big dumb white working class is about to get screwed over by the incoming multi-millionaire- and billionaire-laden Trump administration it voted into office.  Once those poor saps in the white working class wake up to their moronic mistake, the narrative suggests, they’ll come running back to their supposed fr [...]

Riyadh has vehemently denied that the royal family, including Crown Prince bin Salman, has been involved in Khashoggi's murder. A total of 21 people have been detained on suspicion of ordering and carrying out the murder; five of them face the death penalty. [...]

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland has resigned from her post. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Russian political scientist Alexander Konkov said that her departure is highly symbolic, and could presage important changes in the Trump State Department's attitude toward US-sponsored regime change operations. [...]

Earlier, Germany voiced support for the construction of the second Nord Stream pipeline amid criticism from US President Donald Trump, who has urged EU countries to abandon the project and buy American liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead. [...]

Yuri Usachov is no stranger to space travel, with four spaceflights, seven spacewalks and 553 days in orbit under his belt. He's also well-versed in person-to-person diplomacy, spending three of his missions interacting with foreign astronauts. Speaking to Radio Baltkom, Usachov revealed how the world's conflicts might be brought to a peaceful end. [...]

The Moscow-Damascus Intergovernmental panel has reached a series of agreements, including switching to national currencies in mutual settlements and commercial energy exploration in Syria. “Mutual settlements, transport and logistics - as far as I’m concerned these issues have been settled,” Vladimir Padalko, Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry told journalists on [...]

The remarks of Fox News host Bill O’Reilly who called Vladimir Putin “a killer” have put the news channel in an awkward situation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Russia is very patient and can wait till 2023 for an apology. [...]

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. [...]

Russia has delivered over 6 tonnes of humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo and Damascus province. Russian servicemen have delivered over 6 tonnes (metric tons) of humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo and Damascus province, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation informs in its daily bulletin. [...]

Germany’s major rightwing party, the AfD, threatens to push for a so-called ‘Dexit’ if the EU doesn’t restore its members’ national sovereignty and takes no action against “Islamization of Europe” within the next five years. [...]

The Congressional Budget Office has some bad news for Republicans pushing repeal of Obamacare. While health insurance premiums and the federal deficit are projected to drop by 2026, about 24 million Americans would also lose coverage in that time. [...]

Integrity Initiative’s crusade to create a lockstep anti-Russia narrative in Europe and the US has hit a roadblock: According to the shadowy organization, Norwegians are too skeptical of US politics and not adequately anti-Russia. [...]