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Kremlin says Russia has capacities to complete Nord Stream 2 in near future

Sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines, included in the US military budget for the 2020 fiscal year came into force on December 20

MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. The Kremlin expects that the construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be completed in the near future, Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"There are certain capacities that allow us to hope that we will be able to complete the work in the foreseeable future," the Kremlin representative said. He did not say the specific time. "The sooner, the better," Peskov said.

Meanwhile, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak believes that the pipeline can be completed even without the participation of foreign contractors and their pipe layers.

Sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream gas pipelines, included in the military budget for the 2020 fiscal year (began on October 1) signed by US President Donald Trump, came into force on December 20.

Switzerland-based Allseas, pipe-laying company for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, reported earlier suspension of pipelay activities until regulatory, technical and environmental clarifications from the relevant US authority.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 violate international law and present a perfect example of unfair competition.

The United States Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the US Department of Defense for 2020 fiscal year (started on October 1), which obliges the administration to impose sanctions on the Russian Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines. Earlier, on December 11, the House of Representatives voted for the document.

The Nord Stream 2 project involves construction of two lines with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters of gas per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Gazprom’s European partners in the project are German Uniper and Wintershall, Austrian OMV, French Engie and Anglo-Dutch Shell. The pipeline bypasses transit states — Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and other East European and Baltic countries — through the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany.