Khristenko on Estonian “Rudeness” and Nord Stream

From the FT story “Russia attacks Estonia over pipeline survey”

Russia yesterday accused Estonia, its small Baltic Sea neighbour, of “rudeness” and violation of a United Nations maritime convention by refusing permission for a seabed survey linked to the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to western Europe. “To use such tools, as the Estonian government did, is in my view pure politicisation, and done in a rude way,” Viktor Khristenko, Russia’s energy minister, told the Financial Times in an interview. … “It seems to me that the position formulated by the Estonian government is not correct from a legal point of view, since it directly contravenes the Law of the Sea convention,” he added, referring to a UN treaty of 1982 that governs the use of the world’s oceans and seas. “According to the convention, freedom of implementation for such transit projects is guaranteed, subject to certain conditions,” he said. Asked if Estonia was jeopardising the Nord Stream pipeline, Mr Khristenko said: “Certainly, it carries a risk for the project, because one has either to change the route and go a little bit beyond our Estonian friends, or come back to the Law of the Sea convention and try to discuss the conditions.”