Moscow has evidence that the West played a role in rupturing the two Nord Stream submarine gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. That says the head of the Russian foreign intelligence service Sergei Narishkin, Russian news agencies report.
“We have material that points to a Western track in the organization and implementation of these terrorist acts,” the Interfax news agency quoted the top Russian spy. However, Narishkin did not say what kind of evidence was involved. Nevertheless, the comments represent a senior Russian official’s most direct accusation against the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the unprecedented sabotage against the pipelines was an act of international terrorism.
The European Union is investigating the cause of the spills and has indicated that it suspects that sabotage is the cause of the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden.
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday to discuss the enormous damage done to the two gas pipelines that are supposed to carry Russian gas from Russia to Germany. Russia has called for emergency deliberations.
Moscow denies the accusations of being behind the sabotage that led to the gas escape. The Kremlin believes that US President Joe Biden should answer whether the United States carried out its threats against the Nord Stream project on September 25 and 26. The US has always strongly opposed the construction of those gas pipelines in Germany. In early February, President Joe Biden said Nord Stream would be over if Russia invaded Ukraine. Washington denies any involvement in the sabotage.
Both pipelines were not in use when the fractures were discovered Monday, but they do contain gas. The owner of NordStream 1 previously said he expected no more gas to leak from the damaged gas pipeline from Monday.