The president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, assured this Tuesday that, if the three leaks detected in the Nord Stream submarine gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea are a “sabotage action”, there will be “a forceful response”.
“It is now paramount to investigate the incidents, to get full clarity on the events and why. Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response,” Von der Leyen said.
The President of the European Commission made these statements after speaking by telephone with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, whose Government, like that of Sweden, indicated that the leaks identified in the gas pipelines that connect Russia with Germany are the consequence of “acts deliberate.”
“The authorities’ clear assessment is that this is an intentional act and not an accident,” Frederiksen told a news conference.
Also the Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, said that “probably” what happened was due to “sabotage”.
Neither of the two rulers wanted to speculate on the possible motive or perpetrator and both highlighted the seriousness of the event, although it occurred near but outside their territory, and Von der Leyen did not point to any alleged perpetrator either.
NATO, Russia, the United States and Germany have also avoided speculation until they have more information about it.
A Swedish seismic institute announced on Tuesday that Sweden had detected two underwater explosions, “probably due to detonations,” near where leaks were detected in pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe.
Danish and Swedish authorities have detected leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which Russia closed in early September, and in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was never put into operation due to lack of authorization from Germany after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. February 24th.
Despite not being operational, the two gas pipelines operated by a consortium of the Russian giant Gazprom were full of gas.
Ukraine has accused Russia of being responsible for gas pipeline leaks, denouncing a “terrorist attack” against the European Union.
“The large-scale gas leak from Nord Stream 1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression against the European Union,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said on Twitter, quoted by the French news agency. AFP.
Source: TSF
