MOSCOW - The last pipe of the two strings of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was welded, Nord Stream 2 AG, the operating company, said in a press release Monday.

"On September 6, 2021, specialists on the laybarge Fortuna welded the last pipe of the two strings of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline," the company said.

"As the next step, the section of the pipe coming from the German shore will be connected to the section coming from the Danish waters in a so-called above water tie-in," it added.

The company intends to put the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into operation before the end of the year. It said the project will ensure gas supply security and reliability, and "contribute to meeting long-term needs of the European energy market for gas imports."

The 1,230-km gas pipeline would bring 55 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.