MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. The theory that Russia was involved in the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines was an absurd false story from the very beginning, and its abandonment demonstrates that some vestiges of reason remain in the West, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"Only an overheated mind could come up with the idea that Russia, as one of the main shareholders in this international project, could cut off its own leg. This is an absurd hypothesis that was thrown out for discussion in a knee-jerk manner," the Kremlin spokesman said.
He noted that, now, "wherever anything happens, Russia is first to be blamed - the same thing occurred with Nord Stream, with this terrorist attack."
Peskov stressed that this bogus story "does not stand up to criticism" and is simply too ludicrous. When asked what the Kremlin thinks about the West seeming to gradually back away from discussing this version of events, Peskov noted: "Well, at least some rudiments of reason are still there."
He stressed that what is important now is not to permit attention to be deflected "toward some hypotheses involving a certain pro-Ukrainian Doctor Evil."
Publications on the sabotage of Nord Stream
As the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, the German probe has almost completely ruled out the initial theory of Russia's involvement in sabotaging the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, while the United States does not believe in Russia’s culpability either.
On Tuesday, the New York Times reported, citing US officials, that a "pro-Ukrainian group" that acted without the knowledge of US authorities could have committed the sabotage attack on the gas pipelines. The Zeit newspaper wrote that German investigators had identified a vessel used by the saboteurs. The company that rented it allegedly belonged to Ukrainian citizens and was registered in Poland.
On Wednesday, the Times [of London] reported that European intelligence agencies are aware of the name of a "private sponsor" of the sabotage. While his identity is not being disclosed by the security services, he is described as a wealthy Ukrainian who purportedly has no links to President Vladimir Zelensky and his government.
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, 2022, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office subsequently opened a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.