Nord Stream 2 complete and ready to be filled with gas, says Putin

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Russia has completed the first line of its controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to Germany, President Vladimir Putin has said during an address to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The €9.9 billion project - the longest subsea gas pipeline in the world - is expected to pump around 55 billion cubic metres of gas to Germany every year, doubling Russian exports to Europe's largest economy.

"The first line of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was completed today, two and a half hours ago. The work on its second line continues," Putin told attendees during the plenary session at the Forum.

Read more: Germany aims for new deal as US continue to monitor Nord Stream 2

He said that some pipes on the Russian side still needed lifting and welding, but the actual pipe-laying was complete.

"Gazprom is ready to fill Nord Stream 2 with gas," he said during the speech, adding that the project "will ensure energy security and reliable gas supplies for the Europeans."

"We are ready to implement similar high-tech projects with our European and other partners in the future, and we hope that the logic of mutual benefit and mutual profit will inevitably prevail over all sorts of artificial barriers in the current political environment."

The pipeline was initially scheduled to start pumping gas at the end of 2019 but has faced fierce international opposition with delays and setbacks caused by planning permission issues, and financial and legal sanctions imposed by the US and some EU states.

Some eastern European countries, especially Poland and Ukraine, have vehemently opposed Nord Stream 2 citing concerns over the EU's energy security as well as the impact that losing lucrative gas transit fees would have on the Ukrainian economy.

In April 2019, Denmark's Energy Agency put a temporary stop on the project's construction, calling for an environmental impact assessment to be carried out on a different route to the two originally proposed through its waters.

Read more: US ramps up sanctions threats on Nord Stream 2

In early 2020, a Trump administration defence bill placing sanctions on companies working on Nord Stream 2 was passed by the US Senate, which led a number of European firms to pull out, most notably Swiss contractor Allseas. This led to Gazprom having to refit some of its ships to lay the remaining pipeline itself.

The news comes less than two weeks before Putin is due to meet US President Joe Biden in Geneva for talks aiming to ease tensions between Russia and the west.

Last month, in a tacit admission that Washington was unable to prevent the pipeline's completion, Biden announced the waiving of further sanctions against the pipeline's operator.

Berlin has been backed the pipeline since its inception, despite the opposition. The first Nord Stream pipeline was approved in Germany by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who signed the deal in the weeks before departing office.

After completing his tenure as chancellor, Schröder accepted the nomination by Gazprom to sit as the head of the Nord Stream 2 AG shareholders' committee, which raised questions in Berlin over a potential conflict of interest. In 2016, he was made manager of Nord Stream 2 AG.

Read more: Biden waives Nord Stream 2 sanctions in push to mend ties with Germany

During his speech, Putin also addressed accusations that Russia is not interested in environmental issues.

"This is nonsense, a myth, and sometimes outright distortion. Like other countries, we feel the risks and threats in this area, including desertification, soil erosion and melting permafrost. Many of those here work in the Arctic and know that we have entire cities built on permafrost in the Arctic. If it all starts to thaw, what consequences will Russia face? Of course, we are concerned," he said.

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