On September 26, the Nord Stream AG operator registered a rapid gas pressure drop on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and Nord Stream 1 followed soon after.
The operator already called the damage to the system “unprecedented”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that the Nord Stream incident looks like a terrorist act on a state level.
According to him, “It is very difficult to imagine that such a terrorist act could take place without the involvement of some state.”
Peskov also said that even though Russia and the US do not maintain substantive contact through their special services, the emergency situation with the Nord Stream gas pipelines requires active and operational cooperation.
- “We do not have any substantive contact or cooperation between security agencies. However, the unprecedented nature of this event — it seems that this is such a terrorist act, perhaps at the state level — of course, it requires very active and energetic cooperation. This is an extremely dangerous situation that requires urgent investigation”, he pointed out.
When asked whether Moscow would seek an international investigation into the incident, the Kremlin spokesman said that “everything will depend on the situation.”
“Of course, this will require the cooperation of several countries. In conditions when there is such an acute lack of communication and the unwillingness of so many countries to contact us in such sensitive areas, a lot of questions arise,” he added.
The remarks followed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko telling reporters on Wednesday that Moscow is ready to consider requests from EU countries for a joint investigation into recent incidents on the Nord Stream offshore gas pipelines, if any, but so far there have been none.
- “If there are any appeals, we will consider them. As far as I know, there have not been any yet,” Grushko said, when asked about Russia’s possible cooperation with EU member states in investigating incidents on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Earlier on Wednesday, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on Wednesday that “the European Union is deeply concerned about damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines […].”
According to him, “Safety and environmental concerns are of utmost priority. These incidents are not a coincidence and affect us all. All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act”, Borrell noted.
Source: SPUTNIK NEWS
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