Russia accuses Sweden of “hiding something” about the Nord Stream sabotage
Sweden’s refusal to share information about Nord Stream pipeline sabotage is “puzzling,” and withholding the results of the investigation means “Swedish authorities are hiding something,” says Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
Traces of explosives were found near the sites of the explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, Sweden said in November, noting that the incident is “gross sabotage”.
Gas leaks in each of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were discovered in late September from the infrastructure just outside Swedish and Danish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.
An investigation launched by the Swedish authorities concluded that the leaks were the result of detonations, most likely the result of “serious sabotage”.
Sweden, Denmark and Germany are also jointly investigating the incident with the gas pipelines built to transport Russian gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation after Germany abolished the certification process following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia, for its part, shut down Nord Stream 1 indefinitely in early September, claiming an inability to repair gas turbines due to Western sanctions.
Today, Russia criticized Sweden’s refusal to share information about the results of the investigation with Russia, and Zakharova said that “Russian experts during an objective investigation may come to uncomfortable conclusions and finally reveal to the public the ugly truth about who committed these sabotage and terrorist attacks,” which the Russian news agency TASS.
“The concealment of facts is proof of the obvious: the Swedish authorities are hiding something,” Zakharova added.
Last year, Russia accused the British navy of being involved in the explosions that disabled the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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