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It no longer makes sense for Russia to examine object found near Nord Stream, says Putin

"I do not think it makes sense for us to get into that now, since one of the NATO countries, or Denmark, told us that they had already examined it, which means that the situation is not explosive," Putin said

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. There is no point for Russian specialists to take part in the examination of the object found near the Nord Stream pipelines, as according to Denmark, the situation is no longer explosive, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the Rossiya-24 news channel on Saturday.

"I do not think it makes sense for us to get into that now, since one of the NATO countries, or Denmark, told us that they had already examined it, which means that the situation is not explosive," Putin said.

"Honestly speaking, for us, the point was not to incriminate someone, but to ensure security so that there would be no other explosions," Putin explained.

"If the Danes say that it is no longer explosive, well, thank God," the Russian leader said.

The President recalled that after Gazprom received permission from the Danish authorities it explored the area around the pipeline moving further from the place where explosions occurred. At a distance of 30 kilometers from the place of explosions they found an object at the junction of the pipes.

"This is the most vulnerable spot - it is in the very same spot but 30 kilometers away where the explosions occurred," Putin noted.

According to him, "all this was photographed and presented to explosives specialists.

"They believe that this is possibly an antenna for receiving a signal either from the air or from space to initiate an explosive device," the head of state explained.

"Having received this information, we honestly, as expected, talked with the Danish authorities and suggested that they immediately, jointly and with the involvement of international experts examine this area, as we believed that another explosive device could be planted there, which, for some reason, didn't explode," the Russian leader added.

"But we received such a vague reply there is no need in our services, and if they need them, they will let us know someday," the President said.

He also recalled that after that, Russia’s representatives in the UN raised this issue for discussion.

"And just recently, on Thursday, I think, we received a response from the Danish authorities already in the form of a diplomatic note, which says that they have examined this object, they believe that it is not explosive," Putin said. "I think they should have been more honest in saying that he is no longer explosive," he added with a smile.

Speaking about the diplomatic note received from Denmark, the President clarified its content. "It was said that the Nord Stream company - its only shareholder is Gazprom, but it is still considered international, foreign company since it is registered in Switzerland - they are ready to invite, but they do not need the services of Russian specialists," Putin said.

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