The Nord Stream talks, which have been going on since April 2006, are planned completed in June 2009, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Maydanov told Rbc.ru.
That is also confirmed by press spokesman for Nord Stream Simon Bonner, who adds to Rbc.ru that a nine country meeting in that same month will assemble and make project conclusion.
Mr. Bonner also says that agreements with the respective involved countries will be completed in the course of 2009, and that construction will start in the first quarter of 2010.
The 1220 km long underwater Nord Stream pipeline project has met major resistance from several of the countries around the Baltic Sea. Sweden has been among the biggest critics of the project and still threatens with closing its economic zone for the pipeline operators.
The international talks have been made within the frames of the Espoo Convention, a document on international notification and consultation in projects with a significant environmental impact across national borders.
