MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday labeled Denmark’s stance regarding the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines as "disgusting and illegal."
"A disgusting and illegal position over the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines has been taken by the government of Denmark, whose exclusive economic zone, near the island of Bornholm, is where the sabotage attack was carried out during the night from September 25 to September 26," she said on Telegram.
According to the diplomat, the kingdom’s Foreign Minister, Jeppe Kofod, "instructed his representatives in New York to refuse to participate" in a special meeting of the UN Security Council that has been convened by Russia on September 30, which was supposed to discuss the situation.
"In interviews with news media, Mr. Kofod explained this failure to participate by the fact that Russia is allegedly trying to "set the course for discussing the sabotage < ... > and divert attention from the events in Ukraine," Zakharova said.
She said the Danish minister accused Russia of allegedly spreading false information about the involvement of the West in the explosion of gas pipelines. In addition, Kofod stated the determination of the Danish government "to deny Russia participation in the investigation of the sabotage and identifying the perpetrators."
"By the way, Kofod's position was criticized, remarkably, by leading Danish international practice lawyers, who noted that there are no norms in international law that allow a removal of Russia, as the owner of the gas pipelines, from the investigation," the diplomat said.
Zakharova said Russia cited only facts and direct quotes from statements at the highest and high levels, "indicating the interest of some foreign states, primarily the US, in the destruction of the gas pipelines." The diplomat highlighted the fact that Russian comments on this issue appeared only after the former Foreign Minister of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski on his Twitter page had thanked the US for damaging the Nord Stream pipeline. NATO regularly holds naval exercises in the area where the incidents took place, the spokeswoman said, and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin a few days after the explosions admired the capabilities of US underwater drones.
"In this context, voices are raised in the United States by experts and members of the establishment, which are in favor of the probable involvement of the special services of that country in the sabotage," Zakharova said.
The Nord Stream AG company on September 27 reported that three threads of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 offshore gas pipelines had suffered unprecedented damage on the previous day. Swedish seismologists later reported that two explosions had been recorded along the Nord Stream pipelines. 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.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen described the incidents as sabotage, saying any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and would be met with a decisive response.