"Nord Stream 2 become operational in 2021"

The construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be completed in August and it is likely to become operational as early as this year, Rainer Seele, the head of the Austrian oil giant OMV, said on 28 July.

"The construction work will be completed at the end of August. So, we believed that the gas may be flowing this year," Seele said at a press conference.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is now around 98% complete, is designed to transport natural gas across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The construction of the first line of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is already finished.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last week that despite attempts of the United States to politicise the Nord Stream 2 project, the pipeline will be operating soon and the US-Germany agreement on Nord Stream 2 will not be able to have an impact on the project as it is almost completed.