Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev thanked Sweden on Wednesday for approving the construction of the Russian-German Nord Stream natural gas pipeline through its economic zone in the Baltic Sea.

"We appreciate the decision made by the Swedish government after serious study and deliberations, pursuant to the internal procedures... which we spoke about yesterday with our colleagues, on giving a permission to build the Nord Stream gas pipeline through the economic zone," Medvedev said after his talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Medvedev said the decision reflected Sweden's weighted position on the project's mutual benefits for both parties, and that the pipeline is ultimately aimed at ensuring Europe's energy security.

The $12 billion pipeline is designed to bypass the traditional transit nations of Ukraine, Poland and Belarus, last month.

Russia and Ukraine, which transits around 80% of Russia's Europe-bound gas, have had a series of conflicts over gas prices and debts in recent years, which led to brief cutoffs in supplies in 2006 and at the start of this year.

The 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) Nord Stream pipeline is designed to pump some 56 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Russian port of Vyborg to the German port of Greifswald.

The construction of the gas pipeline is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2010. Nord Stream is due to come online in 2012.

STOCKHOLM, November 18 (RIA Novosti)