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Kremlin admits that Nord Stream incident could be terrorist attack

When asked whether Moscow would seek an international investigation, Dmitry Peskov said that "everything will depend on the situation"
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted on Thursday that Nord Stream explosions could have been a terrorist attack.

As he told reporters on Thursday, it is "impossible to answer the question about the possibility of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States in the investigation of the emergency, since we don’t have any substantive contacts and cooperation between security agencies."

"At the same time, the unprecedented nature of this event - it seems that this is some kind of terrorist attack, possibly at the state level - of course, requires very active, intense cooperation. This is an extremely dangerous situation that requires urgent investigation," Peskov stressed.

When asked whether Moscow would seek an international investigation, he said "Everything will depend on the situation."

"Of course, cooperation of several countries will be required here. In the situation of an acute lack of communication and unwillingness of very many countries to have contact with us on such sensitive areas, a lot of questions arise," Peskov explained.

Nord Stream pipeline leaks

On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG reported about "unprecedented damage" on Monday that affected three lines of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines registered within several hours. The first was identified along Nord Stream 2 near the Danish island of Bornholm, and two leaks were discovered afterwards. Denmark’s Energy Agency said a large amount of natural gas had streamed out. Aircraft and vessels were advised to stay at least five miles away from the site of the incident.

Later, Swiss seismologists said two explosions had been recorded along the routes of both pipelines on Monday. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen slammed the incidents as sabotage and warned that "any deliberate disruption is unacceptable [and] will lead to the strongest possible response." Sweden’s Coast Guard discovered another gas leak from the pipelines on Thursday.