"This is in the interests of our European partners": Putin called the timeframe for filling the second string of Nord Stream 2 with gas

Technological work on filling the second string of Nord Stream 2 with gas will be completed by the end of the year.

This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his speech at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

At the same time, the head of state indicated that the first pipe has already been filled with gas.

“If tomorrow the German regulator gives permission for the supply, the day after tomorrow the supply will begin - 17.5 billion cubic meters.

By the end of this year, in the middle - at the end of December, technological work on filling the second gas pipe of Nord Stream 2 will be completed.

In total, this is 55 billion cubic meters.

If we bear in mind that the deficit on the European market, according to our calculations, will amount to 70 (billion cubic meters. -

), 55 is decent, "Putin said.

At the same time, he recalled that the launch of Nord Stream 2 is in the interests of not only Gazprom, but also five European companies.

In addition, the volume of carbon dioxide emissions during transportation through the "Nord Stream - 2" is 5.6 times less than through the gas transportation system of Ukraine, since "it is already old".

In addition, he drew the attention of ecologists to the fact that the carbon component of Russian gas is three times less than that of American liquefied natural gas.

“By and large, they should not require construction, but the closure of all terminals for receiving liquefied natural gas,” Putin said.

- Nord Stream 2 is a modern technology, modern pipes that allow increasing pressure.

The movement of gas along the bottom of the Baltic Sea occurs without any emissions at all ”.

Afghanistan and the Taliban *

The situation in Afghanistan is one of the most pressing issues of today, Vladimir Putin noted.

According to him, it is extremely important for Russia to have next to its borders "a calm, developing Afghanistan, which is not a source of terrorism, radicalism of any kind."

“We are now seeing what is happening inside Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, there remains the presence of groups, including ISIS **, there are already victims among the Taliban movement, which as a whole - we see these examples - is trying to somehow get rid of these radical elements, "Putin said. ...

Answering the question that the Taliban is recognized as a terrorist organization in the Russian Federation, but is holding consultations in Moscow, the President pointed out that the decision to include the Taliban among terrorist organizations had been made at the UN level.

According to him, the Russian side expects the situation to develop in a positive manner.

“Depending on this, we will be in solidarity and will make a decision to exclude them from this terrorist list, from the list of terrorist organizations.

It seems to me that we are approaching this.

And Russia's position will be to move in this very direction.

But all the same, these decisions should be made in the same way and in the way they were made earlier, when we included this movement in the list of terrorist organizations, ”the head of state said.

He also called Joe Biden's decision to withdraw the American contingent from Afghanistan as correct.

At the same time, he called on the United States and Europe not to absolve themselves of responsibility "for the events taking place and for the future" on the territory of Afghanistan, since it was they who made this "mess".

“And there is no need to turn up your nose here, as our colleagues in the European Union often do, to look at this territory with snobbery.

They are also responsible for what happened there.

So everyone should be involved and help the Afghan people, ”the Russian president emphasized.

About Ukraine and NATO

Speaking about Ukraine, Vladimir Putin stressed that "people of extreme political views ... in fact, run the country, regardless of what the name of the head of state is."

In his opinion, those who came to power in Ukraine relying on the "silent majority" could not fulfill their election promises, since they were suppressed by the "aggressive nationalist minority."

“This is such a dead end.

I don't really understand how you can get out of it.

Let's see what will happen on the domestic political scene in Ukraine in the near future.

For our part, we are doing everything that depends on us in order to build these relations, ”the Russian leader noted.

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Along with this, the head of state indicated that against this background, NATO has begun "military development of the territory" of Ukraine, which "really poses a threat to the Russian Federation."

In particular, he pointed out that the alliance under the guise of training centers can place anything on Ukrainian territory.

“Tomorrow rockets will appear near Kharkov - what should we do with this?

We don't go there with our missiles - they are thrust under our nose.

Of course, this is a problem, ”Putin explained.

Sanctions

Russia makes a significant contribution to food security by increasing supplies to the world market, the president said.

According to him, food exports already exceed $ 25 billion. In this regard, Vladimir Putin thanked domestic agricultural producers, as well as European countries.

“We couldn't dream about it.

Thanks to the Europeans for the agricultural sanctions.

Well, just great.

For sanctions in general.

But we have introduced countermeasures related to agriculture, have invested the appropriate resources.

By the way, not only in agriculture, but also in the so-called import substitution in industry.

And I must say, the effect is good.

I had a feeling of anxiety, I will not hide, but the overall effect is very good, ”he said.

In addition, the President indicated that Russia is ready to further increase the volume of fertilizer supplies to world markets, stressing that the quality of domestic products in this segment is one of the best in the world.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.

** "Islamic State" (IS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.