Belarus calls for Yamal-Europe 2

MINSK, Belarus, March 18 (UPI) -- Moving ahead with the swift construction of a second leg of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline would benefit Russia and Europe, Belarusian officials said.

Europe and Russia are pushing for several rival pipeline projects to diversify the regional energy sector following a January row between Russia and Ukraine that disrupted gas supplies for weeks. About 80 percent of the Russian gas bound for Europe travels through Ukraine.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov told the Czech-language Lidove Noviny that the gas crisis highlighted the "urgent need" to expand the natural resource infrastructure, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency reports.

"In this connection, the immediate construction of the second line of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline would create clear advantages to Russia and our partners in Europe," he said.

Martynov said the project could start bringing gas to Europe within the next two years at a moderately low cost compared to other planned gas arteries.

Yamal-Europe travels more than 1,200 miles across Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany. The capacity of the first leg is around 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas each year.

A second line for the project would bring extra gas to Europe through Belarus as it provides the shortest route.