A ceremony takes place today marking the start of the construction of Nord Stream gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to link Russia and Germany. The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the ceremony near Vyborg closed to the Finish border.<br/><br/>The project was given the go-ahead only in February amid fears that the pipeline could damage the Baltic Sea. But President Medvedev said at the ceremony that the pipeline for the first time – which may be one of its main achievements – will ensure direct supplies of Russian gas to Western Europe, bypassing transit territories.<br/><br/>The existing pipelines run from Russia to EU countries via Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.<br/>