Comments from Kremlin spox Dmitri Peskov hitting wires:
- Kremlin: Both Nord Stream 1 lines have been put out of order...we dont' understand yet what happened...suggestions Russia sabotaged Nord Stream are predictable and predictably stupid...Nord Stream stoppage is not in Europe's interests either...Russia is not interested in stoppage of Nord Stream gas pipeline...there is no clarity on timings of NS repair....we see significant increase in profits of US energy companies supplying gas to Europe.
- Kremlin: Special operation must at a minimum continue until all of Donetsk oblast is 'liberated'.
- Kremlin on Turkish state banks withdrawing from MIR card payment system: 'Obviously this decision was taken under unprecedented US pressure'.
Comes as head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic calls on Moscow to "finalise the legal entrance of the DNR into Russia" following the 'referendums' carried out there over the past week. Formal annexation risks major escalation of conflict.
