Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin threatened to scrap a planned pipeline that would
carry Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany,
a high-profile project that has faced stiff opposition in parts of Europe.
"Europe must decide whether it needs this pipeline or not," Mr. Putin
told Finland's prime
minister, Matti Vanhanen, at a meeting in Moscow.
"If you don't, we will build liquefaction plants and send gas to world
markets, including to European markets. But it will be simply more expensive
for you," he added.
The comments came ahead of talks set for Friday in Nice,
France, where Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev hopes to get relations back on track with the leaders
of the European Union, Russia's
largest trading partner. Those ties were severely strained by Russia's war in Georgia
in August.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, meanwhile, seeking to reassure
Europe about alternative supplies, said after talks with European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday that Norway
plans to increase exports of natural gas to Europe.
In Brussels, Ferran Tarradellas Espuny,
spokesman for the EU's energy commissioner, said, "The EU continues to
strongly support the Nord Stream pipeline as an additional source of gas supplies
from Russia."
But EU lawmakers have called for a new investigation into the pipeline's
environmental impact. The plan also has been attacked by Poland, Lithuania
and Estonia,
angered at being shut out of the direct route. In recent weeks, the global
financial crisis and the sharp fall in oil prices also have raised questions
about financing the 7.4 billion euros ($9.27 billion) project, which is to be
completed in 2011.
Nord Stream, which involves OAO Gazprom of Russia, E.ON AG and BASF of Germany
and NV Nederlandse Gasunie of the Netherlands,
has been a top Kremlin political priority for years since it would bring the
first direct Russian gas exports to Western Europe, bypassing transit states
such as Ukraine.
Finland,
one of several EU states that has a say in approving the project, will conduct
an environmental review of the plan next year, Mr. Vanhanen said.
After the talks, Mr. Putin said Moscow
had agreed to delay imposing new tariffs on wood exports set to take effect
Jan. 1. The plans had met harsh opposition in Finland, whose forestry industry
depends heavily on Russian logs.
Separately, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said Gazprom is
looking at buying a stake in Spanish energy company Repsol-YPF SA.
"Gazprom is considering buying 20% of Repsol, which is offered for sale by
Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso," the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti
quoted Mr. Zhukov as saying.
Repsol declined to comment.