Putin says Nord Stream 2 link ready to calm gas prices – Reuters

Putin says Nord Stream 2 link ready to calm gas prices – Reuters

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline would help to calm a surge in European gas prices and was ready to start exports now a second stretch of the pipeline has been filled.

Nord Stream 2, completed in September but awaiting regulatory approval from Germany and the European Union, faces resistance from the United States and several countries including Poland and Ukraine, which say it will increase Russia's leverage over Europe.

The pipeline had been scheduled to be completed in 2019, but construction was suspended following the threat of sanctions by the U.S. administration of Donald Trump and the subsequent withdrawal of the Swiss-Dutch company Allseas from pipe-laying.