Russia will continue the implementation of the Nord Stream project under the existing plans, President Vladimir Putin said meeting visiting German Prime Minister Angela Merkel in Moscow on Saturday.

"We are firmly determined to continue the joint construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in accordance with plans and schedules," Putin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

"Our energy cooperation is not only bilateral and mutually advantageous but also provides guarantees of reliable energy supplies to Europe as a whole," he said.

The Nord Stream trunk pipeline across the Baltic Sea will link Russia and the European Union. There are no transit states along the pipeline's route, which will reduce the cost of transportation and exclude political risks.

It will transport natural gas for enterprises and households. The new gas pipeline will be critical for Europe's energy security.

Nord Stream links the Baltic coasts of Russia outside Vyborg and Germany outside Greifswald. It will be about 1,200 kilometers long. The first stretch with a capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters of gas is expected to be commissioned in 2010.

When the second stretch is ready by 2012, the pipeline's capacity will grow to 55 billion cubic meters of gas.

The project is implemented by Nord Stream AG created in order to plan, build and operate the sea gas pipeline. Russia's gas giant Gazprom has 51 percent in the joint venture, Wintershall Holding 20 percent, E.ON Ruhrgas 20 percent, and N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie 9 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2008)