MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov considers Poland’s statement on Nord Stream 2 to be a bungled insinuation.

"This is a clumsy statement. Nord Stream 2 is a commercially viable and economically sound project, and it is economically attractive not only for the supplier, the Russian Federation, but also for gas consumers in Europe, primarily for Germany," the Kremlin spokesman told reporters.

According to him, "the volume of gas consumption in Europe is rising, and it is particularly increasing in those countries that act as a locomotive for the European economy."

"An alternative to Russian pipe gas is liquefied natural gas, which include American supplies, but these products are far costlier, and in fact resoundingly more expensive, so the economy speaks for itself," Peskov stressed.

"Such insinuations are probably attempts at politicizing this project. There are numerous accusations, we hear the US directly threatening this project. This however is nothing but a manifestation of unfair competition and an attempt to force Europeans to buy more expensive American fuel which is unprofitable for them," Peskov said.

According to the spokesman, "there aren’t any attempts to conceal such displays of unfair competition."

Polish PM’s statement

Speaking at a conference in Hamburg on November 18, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would make the Ukrainian gas transportation system unnecessary and allow Moscow to "march" into Kiev.

According to Morawiecki, to the east of the Oder, "nobody believes that this [Nord Stream 2] is a business project."

Nord Stream 2 pipeline

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is expected to come into service at the end of 2019. The pipeline is set to run along the Russian Baltic Sea coast bed to the German shore. Each of the pipeline’s two stretches will have a capacity of 27.5 bln cubic meters. The new pipeline will double the capacity of the first stretch and will basically follow its route.

The total cost of the pipeline is estimated at 9.5 bln euro.

Swiss Nord Stream 2 AG was established for the planning, construction and operation of the gas pipeline. Gazprom is the only shareholder of Nord Stream-2 AG. France’s Engie, Austria’s OMV, British-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall are Gazprom’s European partners in the Nord Stream pipeline project.