Miller: restoration of Nord Stream may take more than one year

The head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, said that the restoration of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines could take more than one year. He said this at the Russian Economic Week forum.

According to him, the EU and Germany should give a “clear, political answer” that they are interested in restoring gas pipelines.

“There are sanctions issues, there are economic issues, there are legal issues. And only after all these issues are resolved, it is possible to start technological recovery,” Miller added.

The head of the gas company noted that he did not know why to restore Nord Stream if the Siemens turbines were not working.

Earlier in the day, Alexey Miller said that Gazprom was ready to start building new gas pipelines in the Black Sea to Turkey, as well as to consider creating a trading platform on the border between Turkey and the European Union.

In his speech at the Russian Energy Week forum, Russian leader Vladimir Putin also said that Russia could move to Turkey the gas hub lost as a result of sabotage on the Nord Streams, which is necessary for supplies to Europe.

Sabotage at Nord Stream

The sabotage at Nord Stream took place on the night of September 26, 2022. The pressure dropped on the Nord Stream 2 line, and a decrease was also recorded on both Nord Stream 1 lines in the Danish exclusive economic zone northeast of the island of Bornholm.

The operator of the first Nord Stream, Nord Stream AG, said that the destruction of three gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea is unprecedented. Compensation for damage to Nord Stream was estimated at 17 billion euros. On the fact of the incidents in Russia, a criminal case was initiated on the commission of an act of international terrorism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of September called the incident an act of international terrorism.