Sanctions will not solve Ukraine's problems: Russia

MOSCOW

Sanctions against Russia will not help to solve problems in Ukraine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Commenting on an appeal to the U.S. by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to strengthen sanctions against Russia, Peskov said "such rhetoric is not new".

"This rhetoric about sanctions against Russia is not new. And most importantly, this is the rhetoric that will not be able to help Ukraine deal with the problem of the southeast," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Speaking about gas pipeline Nord Stream II, Peskov said the project will be completed soon.

"In general, the project has already been implemented, and there is certain confidence that the project will be finalized and launched in the interests of European consumers of natural gas," he said.

The Nord Stream II project was announced on June 18, 2015, when Shell, Russia’s Gazprom, Germany’s E.ON and BASF along with Austrian OMV signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the project, which will add two additional pipelines to the original Nord Stream project.

The Nord Stream II project is planned to have a 55 billion cubic meter capacity, which will transverse from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.