"As far as a know, a pipe-laying vessel has arrived in Kaliningrad and will be able to finish laying pipes on the remaining kilometres of the seabed following some refurbishments. As of this moment, the prospects of the project's implementation look quite hopeful," von Geyr told reporters.
He added that Berlin disagrees with Washington on the project and decidedly rejected all extraterritorial sanctions, including the ones imposed by the US.
According to the Vesselfinder website, Akademik Cherskiy is about to arrive in the German port of Mukran later in the day.
On December 20, US President Donald Trump signed the 2020 defence budget, which included sanctions against the project. Currently, the Russian Akademik Cherskiy pipe layer is on its way to Germany to continue laying down the pipeline.