NATO denounced on Thursday “deliberate, reckless and irresponsible” acts of sabotage committed against the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
“We are committed to deterring, protecting against, and defending against the coercive use of energy leverage or any other hybrid process by state or non-state actors,” the 30-member alliance said in a statement.
“Any deliberate attack on the critical infrastructure of Alliance countries would be met with a united and determined response,” they warned.
“The damage to the Nordstream 1 and Nordstream 2 gas pipelines in the international waters of the Baltic Sea is of particular concern,” the allies stressed, referring to “a danger to navigation” and “serious environmental damage.”
Two suspicious explosions occurred Monday morning and evening, according to several seismological institutes. They were located in international waters off the Danish island of Bornholm, but in the respective exclusive economic zones of the two Scandinavian countries.
Four leaks were found over the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. The two pipelines were not operational at the time of the events due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, but were nevertheless filled with gas for technical reasons.
Object of all suspicions, Russia counter-attacked on Wednesday, pointing to the United States and obtaining a meeting of the UN Security Council. Washington denounced in return a new operation of “disinformation”.
