Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday there would be no environmental risks from the Nord Stream pipeline, which is to run under the Baltic Sea to bring gas from Russia to the European Union.
"I believe that Nord Stream will be environmentally safe, reliable and a very good source of gas to Europe," Putin said at a Helsinki summit aimed at generating action to save the highly polluted Baltic Sea.
By going under the Baltic Sea, the Russian-led Nord Stream pipeline could free the EU of the risks posed by disputes between Russia and Ukraine, through which 80% of Russian gas currently transits on its way to Europe.
In January 2009 a dispute between Russia and Ukraine on gas prices led to a cutoff of supplies to western Europe and severe shortages in some countries amid freezing winter weather.
Citing past experience and new research, Putin said one-third of Russia's existing gas lines were under water and "everything is functioning without problem."
Nord Stream is planning to build a 1,220-kilometer pipeline to deliver gas from Russia to Germany, a EUR7.4 billion project led by Russian state-run energy giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) in partnership with Germany's E.On Ruhrgas and BASF-Wintershall. It will link the Russian city of Vyborg and Greifswald in Germany, running under the Baltic Sea and passing through Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish and German waters.
All countries affected by the project have given it the green light, but Nord Stream still needs approval from a Finnish environmental permit authority, which is expected to announce its decision Friday.
A quarter of the gas consumed in the EU comes from Russia.