Dusseldorf - One of the main business backers of the Nord Stream gas pipeline to be built under the Baltic Sea, the giant German chemicals company BASF, affirmed the plan Thursday after seeming doubts in Russia.

"My most recent talks with Alexei Miller, the chief of Gazprom, confirmed that all the parties are working with firm resolve ... to create the Nord Stream pipeline in the time frame," BASF chief executive Juergen Hambrecht said.

His response was released by the German business daily Handelsblatt a day in advance of publication.

On Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had appeared to question the project, saying that if Europe did not want the 10-billion-dollar pipeline, "We will not start building the pipeline.

"Instead we will build plants for liquefying the gas and will send it to world markets (by ship)," Putin said.

A staffer of the Nord Stream consortium, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also denied that there was any faltering in Russian support.

"We are still building the pipeline. But we do expect it to cost more because of the higher cost of borrowing," the staffer told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Key partners in the consortium are the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, German energy company E. ON, BASF and Dutch company Gasunie. The pipe, connecting Vyborg, Russia to Greifswald, Germany is set to be commissioned in 2011. (dpa)