A new gas pipeline between Spain and France could be ready to operate within months, according to Spain's Energy Minister Teresa Ribera.

However, Ribera, who spoke to national broadcaster TVE on Friday, said the timeline would be possible if France and other European countries agreed on the project.

"This new interconnection, this gas pipeline could be operating in about eight or nine months on the southern side of the border, that is, from the Pyrenees to Spain," Ribera said.

The channel would need an additional segment of pipeline to be laid to connect the Spanish grid to the French one.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has advocated for the construction of a pipeline from Portugal through Spain and France to central Europe.

Europe is grappling to find ways to rapidly reduce its energy dependence on Russia following Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine which disrupted the energy market.

According to Scholz, such a connection would make "a massive contribution" to easing the supply crisis.

Spain and Portugal have long pushed for a new pipeline, given their capacity to receive shipments of liquefied natural gas that could be sent on to the rest of Europe.

(With input from agencies)