BERLIN, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Germany defended plans for a Baltic Sea gas pipeline on Thursday after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned European partners that Moscow may scrap the project.

Putin said on Wednesday that if Europe kept delaying the pipeline, Russia might build gas liquefaction plants instead.

"The German government sees the Nord Stream pipeline as a central project to the future assurance of European and German gas provision," Germany Economy Ministry said.

"Existing concerns about the pipeline must be solved through constructive talks between those involved," it said.

The European Union says the plan to pump Russian gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany -- involving Russia's Gazprom <GAZP.MM>, Germany's E.ON <EONG.DE> and BASF <BASF.DE> and Dutch company Gasunie -- is a key project to ensure gas supplies.

But EU lawmakers have called for a new investigation into the pipeline's environmental impact and it has been criticised by Poland, Lithuania and Estonia, angered at being shut out of a leading gas supply route.

Putin said on Wednesday Europe had to decide "whether it needs this pipeline" or not. He said that if Europe were to import the fuel from Russia in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) rather than by the pipeline, it would be more expensive. [ID:nLC054531] (Reporting by Kerstin Gehmlich, editing by Anthony Barker)

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