Putin and Merkel confirmed: Nord Stream 2 will be completed, despite US sanctions
Either by the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2021, work on Nord Stream 2 will be completed and the gas pipeline will start operating.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We highly appreciate Germany’s responsible position in support of the Nord Stream 2 project.” During the negotiations, we also touched upon the issues of continuing the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine; the importance of the agreements reached on October 31 between Gazprom and Ukrainian partners was noted, according to which transit supplies will continue over the next five years,” Putin said.
Merkel supported the assessments of the Russian president.
“The Nord Stream 2 project has been legitimized through new European legislation, we need to bring it to completion. It is also gratifying that very good agreements have been reached for the next five years in the field of gas transit through Ukraine. We also monitored events around the opening of the Turkish Stream.
Germany and other European countries will benefit from Nord Stream 2. Everyone is interested in diversifying their gas supplies and will continue to work in this direction; this is a very important project,” the chancellor noted.
“The question of timing is the only (problematic – ed.) question that arises in this regard. Of course, the completion of construction will be delayed by several months. But I hope that by the end of this year, or in the first quarter of next year, the work will be completed and the gas pipeline will be operational,” the Russian President emphasized.
Putin and Merkel confirmed that Nord Stream 2 will be completed despite US sanctions.