Suspicions of sabotage “strengthened” in Nord Stream leaks, Sweden says
LONDON
Sweden said on Thursday that suspicions of gross sabotage in the latest Nord Stream gas leaks had been strengthened after a preliminary investigation, according to local media.
“Detonations” caused “extensive damage” to both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, public broadcaster SVT Nyheter reported, citing the Swedish Security Service’s (SAPO) intelligence agency.
SAPO chief Karl Melin stressed that Swedish authorities would analyze the damage to the pipelines and stopped short of giving details of the damage because it would be “dangerous” for the investigation, according to the news agency.
In a press release on the case, the Public Prosecutor’s Office highlighted the seriousness of the situation and added that the “involved authorities are fulfilling their respective tasks in the best possible way”.
Sweden’s outgoing Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also said that the gas leaks were likely not a coincidence.
“It is likely that an intentional act – in other words, sabotage – caused the leaks, which are in the Swedish and Danish economic zone. This is therefore not a direct attack on Sweden,” Andersson says in a statement published on the government’s website.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said for her part that the incident was the most serious security policy issue that Sweden has faced since 1980, SVT Nyheter reported.
She added that the situation of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 should be seen as a sign of “the deteriorating security policy” in and near Europe.
– At the moment, we are not sure who did it. However, the suspicion of sabotage should not be perceived as a military threat to Sweden, says Linde.
SAPO launched an investigation into the incident after four leaks were identified in the Russian-owned pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany and pass through both Denmark and Sweden’s exclusive economic zones in the Baltic Sea.
The two Nordic countries raised suspicions soon after the leaks were discovered that they were caused by two underwater explosions and were the result of a deliberate act.
Similar sentiments were echoed by the EU, which said the gas leaks were not accidental.
The Danish Energy Agency and Russian energy company Gazprom had previously announced that pressure levels in the pipelines had returned to normal, indicating that the gas leaks had stopped.
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