OREANDA-NEWS. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov commented on the words of US President Joe Biden that sanctions against Nord Stream 2 are counterproductive at this stage, since the project is close to completion: he recalled that Moscow's position is that sanctions are generally ineffective.

Peskov told reporters: "You mentioned President Biden's words that sanctions are ineffective for Nord Stream. Our point of view is precisely that sanctions are ineffective in general."

Answering the question whether the Kremlin expects a decline in sanctions rhetoric following the meeting of the heads of the Russian Federation and the United States, Peskov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself does not raise the topic of sanctions.

"You know that President Putin himself does not raise the issue of sanctions. He does not, because Russia has never been a supporter of such sanctions exercises," Peskov said.

According to Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's permanent representative to the EU, the change in the US position on Nord Stream 2 cannot be called a surprise, but the decision needs to be assessed soberly, since the US has now decided to abandon sanctions against the Nord Stream AG operator and its leadership, but the sanctions against Russian contractors and specific vessels have not gone anywhere.