BERLIN, September 8. /TASS/. Russia has not received any reliable information from Germany on the case of the sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines, Ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechayev told TASS.
"No, we have not received any reliable information in response to our numerous requests, be it appeals to the Foreign Ministry, be it appeals to the Public Prosecutor General on the line of legal assistance, be it a discussion in the UN Security Council, be it the appeal of the head of the Russian government to governments, including Germany, on the international investigation and disclosure of the participants in this terrorist act, we have not yet received any convincing documents, let alone explanations. This is depressing," the diplomat said. At the same time, he added, "a terrorist blow has been struck against the international energy infrastructure, critical infrastructure."
Nechayev emphasized that the project involves not only Russia, but also many other countries as well. "And the German side, where two prominent economic players are involved, is suffering a huge loss. This applies not only to the construction itself, but also to the loss of profit, because all the strings of Nord Stream-2 were ready for operation," he emphasized.
Technically, according to the ambassador, the gas in both strings was already filled and it was only necessary to open the valve for it to go to the territory of Germany. "Unfortunately, there was not enough political will," Nechayev said. He recalled that even after the sabotage, one string was preserved. "And the Russian side proposed, and [Russian] President Vladimir Putin first proposed, that this string should also carry gas to Europe, to Germany. But unfortunately, the political will of the Europeans and Germany chose a different path," the ambassador concluded.
On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented damage" on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system. Later, Swedish seismologists said they had identified two explosions on the route of the Nord Stream pipelines on September 26, 2022. Following the incident, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office initiated a criminal case on charges of international terrorism.
Russia has repeatedly submitted requests for legal assistance in the investigation of the Nord Stream sabotage on the basis of the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Since October 2022, 15 requests have been sent to Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Thirteen were denied. In August and September 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office sent letters of disagreement with the denials of legal assistance and requests for reconsideration to Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.