The Kremlin accused the United Kingdom on Tuesday of being behind the explosions in September that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, built to transport Russian gas to Europe.
“Our intelligence services have evidence suggesting that the attack was directed and coordinated by British military specialists,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“There is evidence that Britain is involved in a sabotage, a terrorist attack against (these) vital energy infrastructures, not Russian, but international,” he continued.
“Such actions cannot be left (unanswered). We will reflect on the measures to be taken,” he added, denouncing the “unacceptable silence of European capitals.”
“False Claims”
The spokesman for the new British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said the Russian authorities’ accusations were aimed at “diverting” attention, which “is part of their usual methods.”
The Russian army had already accused London on Saturday of being involved in the leaks that occurred in Nord Stream. These accusations came after a Ukrainian drone attack on its Black Sea fleet in Crimea, the planning of which Moscow also attributed to “British experts”.
“False claims,” London replied. British diplomat James Cleverly said on Monday that the Russian accusations were “increasingly remote from reality” and aimed at “diverting the attention of the Russian people from Russian failures on the battlefield.”
Gas pipelines at the center of tensions for years
On September 26, four major leaks had been detected in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines off the Danish island of Bornholm, two in the Swedish economic zone and two in Denmark.
Preliminary underwater inspections had reinforced suspicions of sabotage, as the leaks had been preceded by explosions.
The Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia with Germany have been at the center of geopolitical tensions for years, heightened by Moscow’s decision to cut gas supplies to Europe.
Out of service, however, they contained gas when damaged.
Source: BFM TV
