On Thursday, Russia summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to protest the “lack of results” it claims from the investigation into the explosion that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines at the end of September. Eight months after the spectacular sabotage of these strategic pipelines, built and financed by a Russian-Western consortium to bring Russian gas to Europe, the responsibility for this underwater attack remains a mystery, despite criminal investigations in all three countries.
“Inability to guarantee transparency
“The ambassadors of Germany, Denmark and Sweden were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where they were strongly protested against the total absence of results from the national investigations allegedly carried out by the authorities of these countries,” Russian diplomacy said in a statement. Russia has repeatedly asked to be involved in the investigation, and Russian diplomacy has also denounced the “failure to guarantee transparency” in the investigations.
“The fact that the German, Danish and Swedish authorities are avoiding any interaction with Russia in this matter (…) is unacceptable,” added the Russian Foreign Ministry. He accused the three countries of “not being interested in establishing the true circumstances of this sabotage”. “On the contrary, they are delaying their efforts and trying to cover up the traces and the real culprits of this crime”, he continued.
President Vladimir Putin had denounced an act of “international terrorism” benefiting the United States, Ukraine and Poland. The New York Times had claimed in early March, on the basis of US intelligence information, that a “pro-Ukrainian group” was behind the sabotage. At the end of April, the Danish press reported that a Russian navy vessel specializing in underwater operations had been in the vicinity of the sabotage shortly before the explosions. In March, the UN Security Council rejected a Russian resolution calling for the creation of an international commission of inquiry into the sabotage, with the United States denouncing an attempt to “discredit” the national investigations carried out by the countries concerned.
