Official: Moscow cannot forecast end of N Stream 2 certification

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (PRIME) -- Moscow is unable to forecast when certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be finished because the process is political rather than technical, permanent representative of Russia in the E.U. Vladimir Chizhov said on Tuesday.

"I cannot give you any estimates for the dates," Chizhov said. "I think the certification issue is primarily political, it is not technical, or legal," Chizhov said, adding that the E.U. has no clear position on the issue.

According to Chizhov, the deadline of pipeline certification is of no principal importance for Moscow, because Gazprom can pump gas via the existing pipelines. Gazprom is ready to fulfill any extra orders. The main victims of delays in certification will be the European consumers, because Ukrainian transit costs more for the company.

The Nord Stream-2 project envisages construction of two lines of a natural gas pipeline with an annual capacity of up to 55 billion cubic meters, running from the Russian shore to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Russian gas giant Gazprom is implementing the project together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF, Royal Dutch Shell, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Engie. The project is strongly opposed by the U.S. and several European states.

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