MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. Washington benefits from the Nord Stream pipelines' damage, especially from an economic standpoint, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said at a meeting of CIS security and intelligence chiefs on Friday.
"More and more often, serious questions are being asked of the organizers of these smear campaigns. For instance, literally from the very first minutes after the reports about explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines had emerged, the West embarked on a vigorous campaign to find the culprits. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the main beneficiary, first and foremost, economically, is the US," he stated.
Nord Stream served as one of the main routes to supply gas from Russia to Europe. Due to difficulties with maintenance of turbines amid anti-Russia sanctions it has only been partially employed recently. The construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed, though it has never been commissioned due to restrictions against Moscow as well.
Four Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks have been uncovered, with the most recent one being pinpointed by Sweden’s coast guard. Earlier, the Nord Stream AG company reported that three threads of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 offshore gas pipelines had suffered unprecedented damage on Monday. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was "deeply concerned about the news" and did not rule out that the pipelines’ operation could have been disrupted by an act of sabotage. Swedish seismologists later reported that two explosions had been recorded along the Nord Stream pipelines on Monday. The UN Security Council will discuss the situation with the pipelines at a meeting on September 30 convened at Russia’s request. The Danish Energy Agency reported that a large amount of gas had spilled into the sea. Aircraft and ships are barred from approaching the site any closer than five nautical miles.