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Nord Stream 2 not intended to replace gas transit through Ukraine, says official

The project's representative recalled that it "cannot replace" the transit

BERLIN, March 25 / TASS /. The Nord Stream 2 project will provide additional gas supplies to Europe and is not intended to replace the Ukrainian gas transmission network, the official representative of the company Nord Stream 2 Jens Mueller told journalists in Berlin on Monday. "Nord Stream 2" cannot replace transit through Ukraine," he said. "This is about additional gas volumes through additional infrastructure," Mueller added.

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 euro.

The gas pipeline will not cross transit countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.

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.

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