MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. The Kremlin is surprised that the bombshell investigation by American journalist Seymour Hersh suggesting that Washington was behind the Nord Stream blasts, has not become a headline sensation in the Western media, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"When analyzing any statements coming from the US and Washington, it is so crucial for the media, not just for Russian [media], but for the foreign [press] as well, to pay attention to this very serious, and probably controversial, publication by Mr. Hersh on the alleged involvement and direct guilt of the White House for organizing the act of sabotage and terrorist act on critical energy infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, namely the Nord Stream pipelines," he stressed.
Unfortunately, "this article has not circulated widely in the Western media, and this undoubtedly surprises us," Peskov noted, adding that the investigative report cannot be regarded as the primary source of information, "since some points could be challenged and some points need proof," but nevertheless the publication is notable for its deep analysis and well-shaped presentation. "And, ignoring it would be unfair to say the least, particularly for such a country like Germany, which lost an essential energy facility as a result of a terrorist act," Putin’s press secretary specified.
Such material should have "accelerated an international investigation," he noted. "However, we see the opposite, with attempts to silently curtail this international investigation," Peskov pointed out.
The Kremlin spokesman believes that from the viewpoint of journalistic ethics and reputation, the international media shoulders a huge responsibility for shining a spotlight on this topic, and not glossing it over.
According to the article published on Wednesday, explosives were planted under the Russian Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines by US Navy divers under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 exercise last June. The story cited an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the operational planning as saying that US President Joe Biden personally authorized the operation. Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House told TASS, replying to the news agency’s question, that the Hersh story was totally false and complete fiction.
On September 27, 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. On September 26, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.