Moscow notified it will not take part in Nord Stream pipeline accident probe — Kremlin
Moreover, the Kremlin believes that an impartial probe into the accidents at the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines cannot be held without Russia’s participation
MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. Russia has been notified through diplomatic channels that there are no plans to invite it to take part in the probe into the accidents at the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"We received information through diplomatic channels that currently there are no plans to involve the Russian side in the probe in any way," the Russian presidential spokesman said.
For its part, Russia delivered a message through diplomatic channels that "right now, we are disappointed," Peskov said.
Moreover, the Kremlin believes that an impartial probe into the accidents at the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines cannot be held without Russia’s participation, he pointed out.
"We do not consider any impartial probes [into the accidents at the natural gas pipelines] to be possible without the participation of the Russian side," the Russian presidential spokesman stressed.
Unprecedented damage was uncovered at three stretches of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines on September 30. Swedish seismic specialists registered two explosions along the gas pipeline routes. Investigators from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal probe into an act of international terrorism over the gas pipeline explosions.
The timeframe for restoring the gas pipelines to service cannot currently be determined. At the time of the accidents, the gas pipelines contained about 800 million cubic meters of natural gas, the equivalent of three months’ consumption for Denmark.
Later, the Russian energy giant Gazprom reported that pressure had stabilized in the gas pipelines and natural gas had stopped leaking from the damaged spots of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.