Speaking to Russian Academy of Sciences Vice-President Nikolai Laverov at a session on Siberia’s socioeconomic development in Tomsk on Wednesday, Putin asked: "Does it mean that if anything happens Baikal will not be polluted?" Laverov answered positively, Interfax reported. "The pipeline will be built to the north of the zone pointed out by Academician Laverov. That is settled then," Putin said.