MOSCOW, Jan 17, Reuters -- Russia has urged the European Union not to drag its feet over the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has become a focal point in political disputes between Moscow and the West.
The pipeline to Germany would double Russian gas export capability under the Baltic Sea to 110 billion cubic metres per year, circumventing Ukraine.
The project, led by Russia's Gazprom, has been a geopolitical irritant for the United States and countries including Ukraine and Poland since September, with regulatory clearance expected to be completed by the end of the first half of this year.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said that the certification process by Germany's regulators and the European Commission should not be artificially protracted and politicised.
It has to be conducted in strict compliance with the current norms. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to meet German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday during her working trip to Russia, with Nord Stream 2 and Russia's build-up of military forces near the Ukrainian border likely to be discussed, with Russia's build up of military forces near the Ukrainian border likely to be one of the topics under discussion.
Baerbock said on Monday that the pipeline is on hold and does not comply with European energy law.
After Russia seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Germany has supported Ukraine with aid and diplomatic backing in its standoff with Moscow.