SOCHI, May 18. /TASS/. US statements on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project make the situation with its implementation ‘rather challenging," press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
"The situation is rather challenging against the background of recent statements from Washington. In the opinion of Washington, this project [Nord Stream 2 - TASS] does not correspond to interests of European countries," Peskov said. "The way a question is put is very curious," he said.
"Certainly, this topic will be fairly actively presented in the agenda [of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi - TASS]. This can be assumed with a high degree of confidence," Peskov added.
Current international and regional problems, including the situation in Syria and Ukraine, will be among topics for talks between Putin and Merkel, the press secretary said. "You know that a significant pause surfaced in work of the Normandy Four and it certainly can be expect that this topic will be covered in detail," Peskov noted.
This meeting will be the first for Putin and Merkel after their reelection and inauguration, the press secretary said. "Any meeting with a leader of the leading nation in the EU is of particular importance," Peskov added.