On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said that “international terrorism” was to blame for leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia and Europe, which would be advantageous to the United States, Poland, and Ukraine.
“There is no doubt that this is an act of international terrorism… the geopolitical significance of the remaining gas systems is increasing — they pass through Poland… Ukraine… and the United States, of course, which can now supply energy resources via high prices,” Putin said during a televised address to representatives of Russia’s energy sector.
Following the Nord Stream leaks, NATO declared the occurrences an act of “sabotage” on Tuesday and said it has increased naval deployments to safeguard its infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas.
The G7 leaders expressed their “deeply trouble” over the Nord Stream leaks in a statement on Tuesday, adding that they “strongly condemn any deliberate disruption of critical infrastructure.”
On Monday, Sweden said it would not let Russia participate in a current investigation into breaches in the Nord Stream gas pipeline, but noted that Moscow might conduct its own checks.
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Geopolitical concerns have been centred on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which link Russia to Germany. Russia stopped gas supplies to Europe in what is believed to be retribution for Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The pipes were carrying gas before they were apparently sabotaged, but they are not now in use. The Baltic Sea is home to all four leaks, which were found two weeks ago and are all located close to the Danish island of Bornholm.
Following demands from Russia to be included in investigations into the suspected sabotage, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson made her comments.
(with inputs from agencies)
