Pipeline launched in Germany

LUBMIN - Agence France-Presse

Merkel (L) and Medvedev inaugurate Nord Stream in Germany’s Lubmin. AFP photo

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened on Tuesday a pipeline pumping Russian gas to Western Europe, a massive project set to deepen energy reliance on Moscow.
Medvedev and Merkel joined the prime ministers of France and the Netherlands, Francois Fillon and Mark Rutte, and EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger in symbolically cranking open the Nord Stream gas link in this northeastern German town, and underlined its strategic significance.
“The inauguration of the pipeline is a major event and important for reinforcing ties between Russia and Germany and between Russia and Europe,” Medvedev said ahead of the ceremony.
“It is also a step towards securing Europe’s energy supply.” Merkel called the supply route “one of the biggest infrastructure projects of our time” and said Russia was a crucial and reliable energy partner.
The inauguration marked the arrival of Siberian gas into the European grid through the first of two 1,200-kilometre pipelines running under the Baltic Sea, connecting Russia directly with Germany.