Russia 'patient' after green light for pipeline is delayed

MOSCOW • The Kremlin said yesterday it would be patient following the latest setback to Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline after Germany temporarily halted its approval process.

"The certification of Nord Stream 2 is a fairly complicated process and this was known from the start," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"From the very start, it was clear that we needed to be patient."

He said the Kremlin is "convinced that the project is important for Europe". "It is important for us and for European consumers," he added.

Germany's energy regulator on Tuesday said it was suspending the certification process of the Baltic Sea pipeline over a legal hurdle.

To resume the approval process, the Switzerland-based operator of Nord Stream 2 will need to create a German subsidiary that will own and operate the German segment of the pipeline.

The regulator's approval is one of the final steps before the commissioning of the pipeline that is expected to double Russian gas supplies to Germany.

The delay comes as Europe, which receives a third of its gas from Russia, is battling surging energy prices ahead of winter. It also comes amid rising tensions between Moscow and Europe over a refugee crisis in Belarus and Russian troops gathering near Ukraine.

Critics say the recently completed pipeline will increase Europe's energy reliance on Russia, with some Western countries calling it a geopolitical weapon.

The pipeline also bypasses Ukraine's gas infrastructure, depriving the Western ally of much-needed transit fees.

News of the suspension caused a jump in European natural gas markets, with the price of Britain's natural gas futures soaring more than 17 per cent on Tuesday.

It also comes as Germany finds itself in political limbo, with Chancellor Angela Merkel, a firm supporter of the pipeline project, reduced to a caretaker role while leaders from the Social Democratic, Green and Free Democratic parties debate the make-up of a new government, one that has the potential to be less favourable to its predecessor's pet energy project.

The German regulator, Network Agency, previously set a Jan 10 deadline for the completion of its approval process. But it does not have the final say in the project, which also requires approval from the European Commission.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has pushed for the German regulator to approve the pipeline as a way of easing Europe's natural gas crisis. Many in Europe suspect that Mr Putin has deliberately held back natural gas to create pressure to approve the pipeline.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES