'Better Than Stoking Tensions': Peskov on Nuland's Joke About Pumping Vodka Through Nord Stream 2

Nuland cracked her joke while responding to a journalist who argued that Nord Stream 2 could already be used to transport “gas, or olive oil, or vodka, or whatever”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has addressed a remark made recently by US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland about the capabilities of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.

During a State Department press briefing on Thursday, a journalist asked Nuland about her previous claims that Nord Stream 2 would not move forward if Russia were to invade Ukraine.

As the journo noted that the pipeline is finished and, if turned on, “it would be sending gas, or olive oil, or vodka, or whatever through”, Nuland joked in response: “Vodka would be good. Olive oil would be good.”

When Peskov was asked by media about Nuland's remark, he replied that attempts at joking are a positive thing in the context of the current situation.

“Better that they be joking instead of stoking tensions in Europe,” he said.

The recent months have witnessed a strain in relations between Russia and the United States amid a barrage of unproven claims that Moscow was planning an invasion of Ukraine.

Rejecting these allegations, Russia in turn has argued that such allegations may serve as a pretext for further NATO military expansion in Eastern Europe.