MANILA, November 14. /TASS/. The position of the European Union on extension of the third energy package to the Nord Stream 2 is an attempt to exert pressure for the purpose of abandoning the project, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told reporters on Tuesday.
"Most probably, this is a method of exerting pressure on our country and certain EU nations for the purpose of either push us to abandon construction of the second life of the Nord Stream or to complicate this work in any way," Medvedev said. "Our approach towards implementation of this project remains unchanged. This is not a political tool or an instrument of our country’s influence on European nations as certain countries and politicians frame, this is a normal commercial project," he said.
The attempt to revise operating criteria of the Third Energy Package and extend it to gas pipelines in neutral waters "is at least fairly disputable position, not to say absurd," the prime minister said.
"In my opinion, this decision is absurd in the legal sense, as confirmed by legal authorities of the European Union also. However, no decisions has been made yet. Let us see how European nations will behave in this case, including those proactively interested in implementation of this project, and what the European Commission will ultimately tend to," Medvedev said.
This is a commercial project aimed at supporting energy security of Europe, which also provides a sound currency revenue to Russia, he said. "This is exactly how we position it," Medvedev noted.