Kremlin suspects foreign government’s role in Nord Stream incident
Dmitry Peskov declined to answer whether it would ever be possible to relaunch Nord Stream 1
The scale of the damage done to the Nord Stream gas pipelines makes it clear that an attack on them is highly unlikely to have been carried without a government playing a role, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“It’s precisely an incident, this is the best classification we can provide at the moment. However, the scale of the damage done shows that some activity indeed took place because certainly, it’s really hard to imagine that such a terrorist attack could have been carried out without some government playing a role,” he said, when asked if Russia viewed the pipeline incident as an international terrorist attack.
The Kremlin spokesman declined to answer whether it would ever be possible to relaunch Nord Stream
1. When asked to comment on CNN reports that Russian warships had allegedly been spotted in the incident area, Peskov noted that the area in question was in the Baltic Sea. “Far more aircraft, ships and other naval vessels belonging to NATO countries were seen there. This is why it’s moronic news or, shall we say, agenda-driven,” the Russian presidential spokesman stressed.
Nord Stream leaks
Nord Stream 1, the main pipeline delivering Russian gas to Europe, operated at a portion of its capacity in recent months due to issues with turbine maintenance. Meanwhile, Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation because of sanctions on Russia.
Four Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks have been uncovered, with the most recent one being pinpointed by Sweden’s coast guard.
Earlier, the Nord Stream AG company reported that three threads of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 offshore gas pipelines had suffered unprecedented damage on Monday. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was “deeply concerned about the news” and did not rule out that the pipelines’ operation could have been disrupted by an act of sabotage. Swedish seismologists later reported that two explosions had been recorded along the Nord Stream pipelines on Monday.
The UN Security Council will discuss the situation with the pipelines at a meeting on September 30 convened at Russia’s request. The Danish Energy Agency reported that a large amount of gas had spilled into the sea. Aircraft and ships are barred from approaching the site any closer than five nautical miles.
