In an interview with RBK published on Wednesday, the official stressed that the contract on the building of the pipeline was made in accordance with all legal requirements, and pointed out that despite the opposition it faces, the project “is moving forward”. He also underlined his confidence that the two pipelines will carry the gas to Europe.

According to Novak, the certification of the work should be completed in the first half of 2022. “If our partners are interested in this and do the certification faster, then the deliveries can start much earlier,” he said.

Novak recalled that the political problems related to the boycott of the Nord Stream 2 construction were present throughout its construction, and also stressed that the company in charge of implementing the project acts strictly in accordance with European laws, and that “any requirement that exceeds current legislation is political in nature.”

The building of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline work was completed on September 10th. To start pumping the gas, the operator must obtain approval from the German regulator.

Certification has now been suspended because Swiss-based operator Nord Stream 2 AG needs to register a subsidiary with Germany’s Federal Network Agency, which announced that a decision on its certification will not be made in the first half of 2022.

Moscow pointed out on several occasions that the gas pipeline is a commercial project implemented with European partners and that Russia has never used energy resources as an instrument of pressure nor it will do so.

Nord Stream 2 will transport around 55 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe per year. The work will increase the delivery capacities of Nord Stream 1, in operation since 2012.

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