The leaders of Russia and Germany gave their blessing on Thursday to a gas pipeline deal that cements Berlin's energy ties to Moscow but which Poland and others fear leaves them vulnerable to the whims of the Kremlin.
The deal on the pipeline, which will ship Siberian gas from Russia to Germany, bypassing Poland and the Baltic states, was signed by Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom, German utility E.ON and Wintershall, a unit of German chemical maker BASF.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder stressed the strategic importance of the project for the further development of German-Russian relations in the energy sector, the three companies said in a joint statement.
The deal worth over 4 billion euros ($5 billion) was sealed in April when Putin visited Schroeder in his hometown of Hanover. It was finalized by the two leaders on Thursday.
Gazprom will take a 51 percent stake in the partnership, with the German companies each taking 24.5 percent.
Putin's visit comes 10 days before a German election, which Schroeder is expected to lose to conservative candidate Angela Merkel.