MOSCOW—Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Nov. 14 that the European Union’s attempts to regulate the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project “looks like” an attempt to force Russia to abandon it, Interfax news agency reported.

“Our approach to the implementation of this project has not changed so far: this is not a political tool, this is a regular commercial project, aimed at safeguarding Europe’s energy security,” Medvedev added, according to Interfax.

The European Commission has proposed extending EU internal energy market rules to cover offshore gas pipelines, in its latest attempt to regulate the Nord Stream-2 project.

Russia plans to build Nord Stream-2 on the bed of the Baltic Sea by doubling the capacity of the existing pipeline from 55 billion cubic meters per year.

The project has faced stiff resistance from some in the European Union, especially from ex-communist states such as Poland.