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Russian finance minister, US energy secretary to discuss Nord Stream 2 project

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is scheduled to be put into operation in late 2019

MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry will discuss the Nord Stream 2 project and the two countries’ interests within the G20, a source familiar with the agenda of Perry’s visit to Moscow told TASS.

According to the source, the talks agenda includes the Nord Stream 2 project, which the US authorities have threatened to sanction, as well as restrictions against Iran, Russia’s cooperation with OPEC and the two countries’ overlapping interests within the G20 group.

Russia’s Finance Ministry earlier confirmed that Siluanov would hold a meeting with Perry on September 13.

On Thursday, the US energy secretary will also hold talks with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. The parties are expected to discuss the construction of a gas pipeline to Europe, ways to resume energy dialogue, the Iranian issue and the activities of US energy companies in Russia.

Nord Stream 2 project

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is scheduled to be put into operation in late 2019. Each of the pipeline’s two stretches will have a capacity of 27.5 bln cubic meters. The pipeline, set to run from the Russian coast along the Baltic Sea bed to the German shore, is expected to connect the Russian resource base with European customers. The total project cost of the Nord Stream 2 is estimated at €9.9 bln.

The gas pipeline will not cross transit countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, running through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Russia and Germany have many times stressed that Nord Stream 2 was only a commercial project and was not politically motivated. However, in April, German Chancellor Angela Merkel mentioned some political factors related to the project’s implementation. According to her, gas transit through Ukraine should continue even after the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is built. Russian President Vladimir Putin said later that the project’s implementation did not imply the end of the Ukrainian gas transit if it proved economically feasible.