The Kremlin today said that a rapid start-up of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline would help to correct sky-high gas prices across Europe amid a squeeze in supply. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Undoubtedly, the quickest launch of Nord Stream 2 would significantly balance out the pricing parameters of natural gas in Europe, including on the spot market. That’s obvious. The demand is high.” His comments came as a record run in energy prices pushed electricity costs to multi-year highs, raising the prospect of an expensive winter for consumers. Last week Russia announced that it had completed construction of the $11bn pipeline, which will allow it to export gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea. It will take four months for the pipeline to get operating certification, Germany’s energy regulator has said. As a result, Russia will not need to send its gas through Ukraine to get to the […]