“We don’t see any objective reasons for artificially delaying certification, let alone far-fetched political links,” he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Nechaev added that the gas pipeline was designed in accordance with the norms of the EU legislation, but the rules were repeatedly changed by politicians from the EU.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Western countries had turned the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into an instrument of pressure on Moscow.