Lavrov: Russia hopes Germany’s neighbors mind Nord Stream-2 commercial benefits

Moscow hopes Germany’s neighbor countries will mind the commercial benefits from the Nord Stream-2 project, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with Russian and German businesses on sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, TASS reports.

Some countries, he said, see "the exclusively commercial, beneficial aspect of this project.

"However, for those trying to torpedo it, I have to say: the distance from Yamal to Germany is two thousand kilometers shorter than the existing pipe to Germany across Ukraine, and the transit costs would be also twice cheaper," Lavrov said. "Thus, the economic, commercial benefit is evident."

"I do not doubt, these aspects would be the basis of final decisions, due by countries neighboring Germany," he added.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to come into service at the end of 2019. The pipeline is set to run from the Russian coast along the Baltic Sea bed to the German shore. Each of the pipeline’s two stretches will have a capacity of 27.5 bln cubic meters. The new pipeline will double the capacity of the first stretch and will basically follow its route. The price tag for the pipeline is estimated at 9.5 bln euros.

Gazprom is the only shareholder of Nord Stream-2 AG. France’s Engie, Austria’s OMV, British-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall are European partners of Gazprom in the Nord Stream pipeline project.