OREANDA-NEWS. Russia will not refuse gas transit through the territory Ukraine, despite the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is close to completion. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with representatives of German business in the city of Sochi.

The politician noted that Nord Stream 2 is an “exclusively commercial project,” and the government practically does not take part in it. “I have talked about this many times, and I want to say it again: this does not mean at all that Russia intends to stop transit through the territory of Ukraine,” the president stated.

According to Putin, the commissioning of the gas pipeline will double the estimated supply of Russian gas via the Baltic route, which, in turn, will help to satisfy demand not only in Germany but in other European countries too.

Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline with a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. It goes from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. In addition to Germany, Nord Stream 2 route will pass through Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

The construction of the gas pipeline was opposed by a number of European Union states members, as well as Ukraine. The United States of America’s authorities proposed introducing sanctions against companies involved in the building of Nord Stream 2. The US senators supposed that this would help delay the construction of the pipeline for more than a year.

In November, Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, said that Russia could begin to supply gas through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline by the end of 2019.