BERLIN, September 25. /TASS/. Russia will continue to push for a transparent international investigation into the explosions of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, one that involves its own experts, Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev said on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream.
"Exactly two years have passed since the unprecedented terrorist attack on these huge European energy infrastructure facilities - the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. It caused huge damage to the environment, led to huge losses for investors, and severed the energy ties between Russia and Germany, which had served as a model of mutually beneficial cooperation for decades," Nechayev said.
He stressed that "this most dangerous precedent - the sabotage of a critical infrastructure facility - must not go unpunished." The diplomat's commentary has been published on the website of the Russian Embassy in Germany.
"Our country will continue to insist on a transparent international investigation involving Russian experts. We must make it clear that we will not allow this case to be hushed up or a scapegoat to be appointed," the diplomat said.
Nechayev noted that those responsible for the gas pipeline explosions have still not been named.
"Western justice, which is usually quick to draw conclusions, is silent. No one is rushing the investigators. There is no official information about the progress and results of the investigation," the Russian ambassador said, adding that Denmark and Sweden had already distanced themselves from the issue.
"The German authorities continue to remain silent, deferring to the Prosecutor General's Office. The latter does not comment," Nechayev summed up.
On September 26, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow has no doubt that the explosion of Nord Stream was carried out with the support of the United States. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.
On situation around Nord Stream explosions
On August 15, the former head of the Federal Intelligence Service of Germany August Hanning (he held the post in 1998-2005) said in a commentary to the newspaper Die Welt that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Polish leader Andrzej Duda probably agreed to blow up the Nord Streams, since this terrorist act could not have been a private endeavor. He also called on the German leadership to demand compensation from Kiev and Warsaw for damages for the gas pipeline explosions if their involvement in the sabotage is proven.
In turn, Suddeutsche Zeitung reported citing a joint investigation with the ARD television channel and the publication Die Zeit, that the German Prosecutor General's Office issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor suspected of involvement in the pipeline explosions. The German Prosecutor's Office suspects two more Ukrainian diving instructors of involvement in the sabotage. In addition, German media accused Poland of failing to cooperate in the investigation of the gas pipeline explosions. According to German investigators, the Polish authorities "were not ready to cooperate from the very beginning."
As The Wall Street Journal reported citing sources, Zelensky approved the plan to blow up the gas pipelines, but tried to reverse his decision after the CIA learned of it.