Permission for construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline was not critical for the project to be implemented, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"We had been waiting for Denmark’s permission for long. It was very important but not vital for the project. The project would have been done without that," TASS cited him as saying.
The Kremlin spokesman pointed out that Nord Stream 2 is a commercially viable project for European countries, which "can make a very significant contribution to energy security and the diversification of reliable gas supply to Europe."
"It is not some sort of an energy harness on Europe’s neck," Peskov added.
