EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stated on Wednesday that the incidents with gas leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines were the result of a deliberate act.
“All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act. We will support any investigation aimed at getting full clarity on what happened and why, and will take further steps to increase our resilience in energy security,” according to a statement by EU foreign policy chief released on the website of the EU Council.
“Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response,” Borrell stressed.
Three leaks were registered within several hours in Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2. The first was detected in Nord Stream 2 close to the Danish island of Bornholm. Later two leaks were revealed in Nord Stream. Aircraft and vessels were advised to stay five miles away from the incident site. The authorities of Denmark and Sweden said they considered the emergency as a deliberate act.
In February, the US President Joe Biden suggested on camera that he might take out these pipelines. Notice how he phrased it and he’s the president. He doesn’t phrase things by accident, particularly his reading off cards. He didn’t say, I will pause the delivery of gas from Russia to Germany. He said there won’t be a Nord Stream 2. We’ll put an end to it. Will take it out. Will blow it up.
Kremlin says Nord Stream explosions ‘a big problem for Russia’
The Kremlin has denounced as “stupid and absurd” any allegations of it being behind the suspected explosions of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines earlier this week, stating that the incident actually creates many issues for Russia.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained that the damage to the pipelines posed a “big problem” for Russia as it had essentially lost its gas supply routes to Europe.
Both lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline were pumped full of gas and were prepared to deliver it to Europe at the time of the alleged explosion, said Peskov, adding that “this gas is very expensive and now it is all going up in the air.”
Peskov also noted that neither Russia nor Europe had anything to gain from the destruction of the pipelines, especially Germany, for which this incident poses a threat to the future development of its industry, as well as its profitability and competitiveness.
American LNG suppliers, on the other hand, have been making incredible profits after having multiplied their deliveries to the European continent, Peskov pointed out, adding that these companies are “very interested in maintaining these super-duper profits in the future.”
While no suspects behind the incident have officially been named, the Kremlin spokesperson advised against making any official announcements before a proper investigation into the incident is carried out.
Russia issues emergency call to UN Security Council
Moscow wishes to call an emergency UN Security Council session over the “provocations” at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday in a Telegram post. Both pipelines were severely damaged earlier this week in what many suspect was a deliberate attack.
Danish authorities confirmed gas leaks from the pipelines not far from the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea on Monday after the operator reported a loss of pressure in both Nord Stream 1 and 2. Swedish and Danish authorities later confirmed a series of undersea explosions had been detected before the leaks were confirmed.
Russian, American, and Swedish officials all said that the damage might have been the result of a targeted attack on pipeline infrastructure. No suspects behind the incident have officially been named, although in a tweet former Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski “thanked” Washington for destroying the pipeline. Moscow, which called the incident a “terrorist attack,” also named the US as a potential suspect.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
