ST. PETERSBURG, May 12. /TASS/. Russia will continue to use all available legal instruments to bring those behind the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines to responsibility, but the likelihood of this happening at international court bodies is slim, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
"Naturally, we will continue to use all available legal instruments to hold those responsible accountable but the chances of doing that at international court bodies are negligible," he said at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
He recalled that attempts are being made to accuse Russia of blowing up the pipelines whereas it is Russia whose rights have been infringed upon. "Despite the obvious facts that indicate that radical groups were involved, European countries, as if on cue, have forgotten their commitments under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the UN Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings," he said.
According to Medvedev, Russia is capable of changing the situation. "But universal means of legal defense are practically not working now, even such beautiful ideas that were committed to paper in the declaration on the principles of international law adopted by the UN General Assembly more than 50 years ago," he stressed.
On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented damage" on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system. Later, Swedish seismologists said they had identified two explosions on the route of the Nord Stream pipelines on September 26, 2022. Following the incident, the Russian prosecutor general’s office opened a case on charges of international terrorism.