BERLIN, February 9. /TASS/. The certification process required for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to start pumping gas to Germany was halted in the fall 2021 and has not been resumed since then, a spokesman of the German Federal Network Agency told TASS.

"The certification process was halted on November 16, 2021. Neither Nord Stream 2 AG [the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline operator] nor its subsidiary Gas for Europe GmbH has taken active actions since then. The Federal Network Agency has no communication with these two companies," the regulator said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that gas could be supplied to Europe along the Nord Stream 2 string which survived the sabotage act in the Baltic Sea but "Germany does not open it."

Only one string of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can theoretically be used after the explosions at pipelines in the Baltic Sea.