RUSSIA AIMS TO COMPLETE NORD STREAM 2 BY YEAREND

Russia expects to complete the Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 by the end of the year, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, Ulf Mauder and Can Merey reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Work on the nearly complete Russian-German pipeline was underway, Novak said on the sidelines of an economic forum in St Petersburg, despite opposition from the United States and environmental groups.

"The operator with companies participating in the project continues its implementation. Hopefully, the work will be completed, probably, by the end of this year," Novak said.

Russian politicians had earlier said it could be completed even as early as this summer, although Russia's ambassador to Germany also recently gave an end-of-year timeline.

Only around 100 kilometers are still missing in the two-string pipeline that will total 2,460 kilometers when complete, Novak said.

Once it goes into operation, it is expected to transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Russia to Germany. The US fears that the project will make Europe too dependent on Russian gas.

Eastern European states such as Poland and the Baltic countries also oppose the pipeline. Supporters counter that Washington is only looking for better sales opportunities for their own liquefied gas in Europe.

Russia has welcomed a recent decision by the United States to forego tough sanctions against the operating company Nord Stream 2 AG, in what was seen as a goodwill gesture to Berlin by the Biden administration.

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