Russia on Monday urged Germany and the European Union not to drag their feet over the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has become a focal point of political disputes between Moscow and the West. The pipeline to Germany would double Russia’s gas export capacity under the Baltic Sea to 110 billion cubic meters per year, bypassing Ukraine.
The project, led by Russia’s Gazprom, has been a geopolitical irritant for the United States and countries like Ukraine and Poland since construction was completed in September, with regulatory clearance expected at the earliest. of the first half of this year. “The certification procedure by German regulators and the European Commission should not be artificially prolonged and politicized,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“It must be carried out in strict compliance with the standards in force.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to meet his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday during his working visit to Russia.
Baerbock said on Monday the pipeline was on hold and did not comply with EU energy law. Germany has backed Ukraine with diplomatic aid and support in its standoff with Moscow since Russia seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
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