MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. Moscow hopes that Nord Stream 2, which is a purely commercial project, will be protected from undue external political influence, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"We proceed from the fact that we will be able to protect this purely economic international project from gross political influence from the outside. Because this project is in the interests of both Europeans and Russians," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.

When asked if the prospects for the pipeline’s launch have become clearer after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Kremlin official said: "Both the Russian and the German side believe that this is an international project, that this is a project that can and should play a very important role in stabilizing energy markets in Europe, which will certainly play an important role in ensuring Europe’s future energy security and will simply make gas prices lower for European consumers," the spokesman explained.

Peskov recalled that in order to launch the pipeline, the operator should meet the European regulator’s certain requirements.

"These requirements should be met by the operator. We hope that all these requirements will be meticulously and fully met and at the time considered to be appropriate, this project will be launched. It is 100% ready for the launch," the Kremlin spokesman concluded.

Nord Stream 2 saga

The Nord Stream 2 project envisages the construction of two pipelines with a total capacity of 55 bln cubic meters per year from the coast of Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany. Its construction was fully completed on September 10, 2021. On December 29, 2021, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller announced that the gas pipeline was completely ready for the launch.

To start pumping gas, Nord Stream 2’s operator has to obtain the green light from the German regulator. On November 16, 2021, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) suspended the procedure to certify Nord Stream 2 AG, which is based in Zug, Switzerland, as an independent transmission operator due to organizational and legal issues. The regulator noted that the certification procedure would remain suspended until the operator’s main assets and human resources were transferred to the ownership of its German subsidiary.

On January 26, 2022, Nord Stream 2 AG, operator of the Nord Stream 2, established a German subsidiary, Gas for Europe GmbH, for the German section of the pipeline.

However, certification has not yet been resumed, and the Federal Network Agency reported that a decision on certifying the Nord Stream 2 operator would not be made in the first half of 2022. Russia repeatedly stressed that Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project and is being implemented jointly with European partners.