The Kremlin said on Friday that the surviving section of the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which was blown up three years ago, can be quickly put into operation, Reuters reported.
"The remaining line is there, in fact it can be put into operation right now," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The "Nord Stream" system consists of two twin pipelines, "Nord Stream 1" (NS1) and "Nord Stream 2" (NS2), passing under the Baltic Sea to Germany. Only one of the four pipelines, part of NS2, remained intact after the 2022 explosions.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in May that ensuring that "Nord Stream 2" would not go into operation was part of an effort to increase pressure on Russia to begin talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Peskov said Russia hoped that the German-led investigation into the explosions would be completed.
Last month, a Ukrainian was arrested in Italy on suspicion of carrying out the attacks, which Russia has directly blamed on Kiev. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosions, and Ukraine denies any involvement.
On Friday, Peskov reiterated the Kremlin's position that the United States was partly to blame for orchestrating the attacks.
"Who, let's say, approved this? "Well, it is obvious that without the knowledge of the (Joe) Biden administration in the US, such actions by Ukraine and the Kiev regime would have been impossible," Peskov said.