Russian ambassador to Austria blames EU for pipeline "cancellation": media

Russian Ambassador to Austria Sergey Nechayev on Wednesday blamed the European Union (EU) for Russia's recent "cancellation" of the South Stream natural gas pipeline project.

In an interview with the Austria Press Agency, Nechayev said Russia has already invested heavily into the project and did not want to end it.

However, he said the project's cancellation was not entirely unexpected, because Russia has been pushing forward the project for 10 years but it has been repeatedly met with resistance.

"We were continuously confronted with problems and obstacles, primarily from the European Commission and the Bulgarian government," he said.

Nechayev said the resistance from the EU, which accompanied with blame and embargo tactics toward Russia, was counter-productive.

The lack of permission from Bulgarian authorities for the pipeline to pass through Bulgaria led to the project being considered unfeasible, according to Nechayev.

Nechayev added that alternative sources of gas supply could be considered, possibly via Turkey or Greece into Southern Europe.

Russia would like to remain an "energy partner" of Europe and Austria, he said. Current gas deliveries would remain on track, such as through the Nord Stream pipeline into Germany. Enditem