Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the completion of the first leg of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Moscow and Berlin, which is expected to supply gas within 10 days.
"I am happy to announce that today, two and a half hours ago, the pipe-laying for the first leg of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was successfully completed," Putin said at the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.
The work on the second line is currently underway, and the Nord Stream 2 is purely economic and commercial, he told a plenary session of the forum.
The President noted that the route via the Baltic Sea is shorter than onshore, making gas supplies more affordable, predictable and environmentally friendly, Xinhua news agency reported.
"We are ready to continue to implement similar high-tech projects with our European partners and others," Putin said.
The 1,230-km Nord Stream 2 pipeline is designed to pump natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea and could deliver 55 billion cubic metres of gas annually.
This could enable Russia to bypass the current route through Ukraine.
