MOSCOW, December 3 /TASS/. Vladimir Chizhov, Ambassador to the European Union, said on Wednesday he was surprised that Russia got no thanks from the European Union for decision to freeze the South Stream gas project.

The European Union did not thank Russia for meeting halfway its desire to stop the South Stream project, Chizhov said in an interview aired by the Rossiya 24 television news channel on Wednesday.

“The move could have been unexpected for broad European public but not for experts working in the power sector. They could be a bit surprised by the timing but on the whole things were predictably moving in that direction,” Chizhov told Rossiya 24.

On December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia could not go ahead with the South Stream gas project under the current circumstances. His remarks came after Bulgaria, an EU member state since 2007, had refused to give permission for the construction of the gas pipeline’s Black Sea section.

“We believe that the European Commission’s stance has not been constructive. If Europe does not want to implement it (the South Stream project), then it will not be implemented,” Putin said, adding that Russia had everything ready for the works to start.