MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/: Nord Stream 2 is an exclusively commercial project designed to make a great contribution to the energy security of Europe, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, answering a question about how the Kremlin views the new decision of the German court on Nord Stream 2 and what measures will be taken in this regard. Nord Stream 2 AG on Wednesday lost in court a case to exempt the project from the requirements of the EU Gas Directive.
"We can only repeat the statements made earlier and voiced at different levels that Nord Stream 2 is an exclusively commercial, international project, which is designed to make a significant contribution to the energy security of all Europe," he stressed.
At the same time, according to him, the company operator of the project should determine the next steps itself. "It is a corporate issue. After all, the company itself must decide on further actions," the Kremlin spokesman said.
At the end of July, it was reported that Nord Stream 2 was 99% complete, and the Fortuna barge continued to work at the final section. The first string of the pipeline was completed in June 2021. On August 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the construction of the gas pipeline was nearing completion, and 15 km of it remained to be laid by sea.
Nord Stream 2 includes construction of two strings of a gas pipeline with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The work was suspended in December 2019 after Swiss Allseas abandoned pipelaying due to the threat of US sanctions. Since December 2020, the construction of the gas pipeline has been resumed.
