GERMANY'S GAS INDEPENDENCE

REUTERS - Germany will not become dependent on Russia for gas due to Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, stressing that it was crucial to ensure Ukraine remained a transit country for gas.

"Do we become dependent on Russia due to this second gas pipeline? I say 'no', if we diversify at the same time," Merkel told a news conference in Bratislava, where she met the leaders of the Visegrad group - Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Diplomatic sources have said Germany is pressuring other European capitals to block an EU proposal to regulate Nord Stream 2 ahead of a key meeting on Friday but may fail to convince France, threatening the project's construction.

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Earlier: 

2019, January, 30, 11:25:00 MORE RUSSIAN GAS FOR AUSTRIA GAZPROM - Particular attention at the meeting was paid to the growing demand for gas supplied by Gazprom to Austria. In the period from January 1 through January 27, 2019, gas exports totaled an estimated 1.2 billion cubic meters, an increase of 35 per cent from the same period of last year. Русский | English

2019, January, 30, 11:20:00 RUSSIAN GAS FOR EUROPE: 200 BCM PLATTS - Russia's Gazprom Export believes that the record high gas sales of 200 Bcm in Europe and Turkey last year represented a "new reality" for Russian gas exports. Speaking Tuesday at the European Gas Conference in Vienna, CEO Elena Burmistrova also said she expected gas sales to remain at current levels over the next few years.

2019, January, 25, 08:50:00 NORD STREAM WELL ABOVE PLATTS - Natural gas flows via the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany totaled 58.8 Bcm in 2018 -- 3.8 Bcm higher than its nameplate capacity of 55 Bcm/year -- according to the operator of the pipeline.

2019, January, 23, 11:40:00 ТРАНЗИТ РУССКОГО ГАЗА ЧЕРЕЗ УКРАИНУ МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - С участием Министра энергетики Российской Федерации Александра Новака, заместителя председателя Европейской комиссии Мароша Шефчовича и Министра иностранных дел Украины Павла Климкина состоялись трехсторонние переговоры в формате Российская Федерация – Европейский Союз – Украина по вопросу транзита российского газа через территорию Украины европейским потребителям после 2019 года.

2019, January, 16, 11:35:00 GERMANY PROTECTS EUROPE REUTERS - Germany will try to protect German and European companies from some potentially “massive collateral damage” if Washington levies further sanctions against Russia, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

2019, January, 16, 11:25:00 U.S. SANCTIONS FOR OMV REUTERS - Threatening to impose U.S. sanctions on companies involved in the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline is unacceptable, the head of Austria’s OMV, which has a stake in the project, told Germany’s Handelsblatt.

2019, January, 14, 12:15:00 U.S. SANCTIONS FOR GERMANY REUTERS - The United States has warned German companies involved in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that they could face sanctions if they stick with the project.