Vladimir Putin

"In general, despite Washington's harsh and hostile statements, President Putin remains a strong advocate of building good relations with the United States, at least in those fields that are beneficial to us," Peskov told a daily briefing on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The bill was approved by the lower house of Parliament or the State Duma, and the upper house of Parliament, the Federation Council, last month, reports Xinhua news agency. After Putin signed it on Monday, the law, which was made following constitutional amendments adopted in a nationwide referendum in July 2020, was uploaded to the official Internet portal of legal information.

The leaders paid particular attention to joining efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possibility of registering, using and producing the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in European Union (EU) countries, Xinhua news agency reported. As for the situation in Ukraine, Putin urged Kyiv to fulfil agreements on establishing a direct dialogue with Donbas and settling the legal issues regarding the region's special status.

One of the 206 constitutional amendments stipulates that the limit of two presidential terms applies to the incumbent head of state, but without taking into account his previous terms. In light of the amendment, the bill grants Putin the possibility of starting his presidency from scratch in 2024 and holding the office for two more terms until 2036.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would like to invite his US counterpart, Joe Biden, to a live-broadcast meeting on Friday or Monday to discuss problems in bilateral relations and strategic stability. "One more opportunity has been missed to find a way out of the deadlock in Russian-US relations created through the fault of Washington," the ministry said in a statement on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he would like to invite his US counterpart Joe Biden to an online meeting to continue their discussions of bilateral ties. Putin told a local TV program that the first phone call between the presidents in January was initiated by Washington, the Xinhua news agency reported.

This foreign pressure, the president said, is not of a healthy competitive nature but rather part of a series of direct actions aimed at forcing Russia to succumb to external control. Putin also the president thanked the FSB for providing timely information concerning planned external "provocations."

At a press conference after an online meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel on Friday reiterated that the stance of the German government on the project has not been changed. The 1,230-km Nord Stream 2 pipeline is designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.

The validity period of the New START will be extended by five years to February 5, 2026, Xinhua news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying in a statement issued on Friday. On Tuesday, Moscow and Washington exchanged notes on extending the key arms control pact.

The White House said in a statement that Biden and Putin discussed both countries' willingness to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for five years, agreeing to have their teams work urgently to complete the extension by February 5, the Xinhua news agency reported.