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Nord Stream gas leak investigation

Diplomat slams West’s theories of Russia’s involvement in Nord Stream accidents as stupid

Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov noted that their statements look ridiculous

Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov AP Photo/Florian Schroetter

Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov

© AP Photo/Florian Schroetter

VIENNA, September 29. /TASS/. The West’s allegations about Russia’s involvement in the acts of sabotage against the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines are stupid and ridiculous, Russian Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said on Thursday.

"One of the Western narratives is that Russians are pathological masochists. Their favourite pastimes are to shell themselves at the ZNPP, to blow their own pipelines in the Baltic Sea etc. Ridiculous? Yes. Stupid? Yes. But a part of the Western public buy it enthusiastically," he wrote on his Twitter account.

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented damage" on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was "extremely concerned about this news." He did not rule out that the disruption of the pipelines’ operation might have been a result of sabotage.

Later, Swedish seismologists said they had identified two explosions on the routes the Nord Stream pipelines on Monday. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, classified these incidents as sabotage.

"Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell underlined in a statement.

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Foreign policy Nord Stream gas leak investigation

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