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Tubing of the pipeline in Sassnitz (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)
Photo: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / REUTERS
Construction of the German-Russian Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 has resumed.
A spokesman for Nord Stream 2 confirmed this to SPIEGEL.
The dpa news agency had previously reported the end of the construction stop.
Almost a year ago, construction work on Nord Stream 2 off the Danish island of Bornholm was halted after the US put a sanctions law into force against the special ships laying the pipes.
The two Swiss laying vessels were then withdrawn.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would complete the work independently - independent of foreign partners.
On the basis of the US sanctions, persons concerned can be banned from entering the USA.
Any data subject holdings or company shares in the United States can be frozen.
94 percent of the pipeline already completed
In the future, 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be pumped annually from Russia to Germany through the two 1200-kilometer pipelines of Nord Stream 2.
The pipeline, which costs around 9.5 billion euros, is 94 percent ready.
The US government wants to prevent the completion of the gas pipeline, which has largely already been laid, and is threatening companies that are involved in the project with sanctions.
Wshington fears that its European partners are too dependent on Russian gas.
The USA is supported by Eastern European countries such as Poland and the Baltic countries.
At the same time, the US is promoting its liquefied natural gas, which is shipped with LNG tankers, to Europeans as an alternative to Russian pipeline gas.
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bah / dpa