MOSCOW, September 25 Russia will continue to insist on holding the most transparent investigation into the bombing of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechaev wrote on the eve of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on gas pipelines in a comment posted on the diplomatic mission’s Telegram channel.
“We continue to insist on ensuring the most transparent investigation into one of the largest infrastructure terrorist attacks in history, the main victim of which, along with Russia, was Germany. We will make every effort, including within the framework of multilateral formats, to ensure that the truth becomes public knowledge,” the ambassador said .
According to Nechaev, the explosion of gas pipelines has created a dangerous precedent for a terrorist attack on critical infrastructure, and if the perpetrators are not punished, similar attacks may be repeated in the future.
“The countries involved in the investigation of the incident have not yet provided any concrete results. Official requests are followed by formal replies or silence, offers of cooperation are rejected, as are calls for maximum transparency of the investigative actions. All this raises extreme concerns and legitimate questions regarding objectivity and impartiality of the ongoing investigation,” the ambassador added.
Explosions occurred on September 26, 2022 at two Russian gas export pipelines to Europe — Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2. Germany, Denmark and Sweden have not ruled out targeted sabotage. The Nord Stream operator Nord Stream AG reported that the damage to gas pipelines is unprecedented and the time frame for repairs is impossible to estimate. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office initiated a case regarding an act of international terrorism.
American journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh published his investigation on February 8, in which, citing a source, he stated that explosive devices under Russian gas pipelines were planted in June 2022 under the cover of the Baltops exercise by US Navy divers with the support of Norwegian specialists. According to Hersh, the decision on the operation was made by US President Joe Biden following nine months of discussions with administration officials involved in national security issues. The Pentagon later stated that the United States had nothing to do with the bombing of Russian gas pipelines.
In parallel with this, German media periodically report on the Ukrainian trace in the case of explosions on gas pipelines.