The Secretary General of NATO considers it “extremely important” to clarify all the facts about the leaks detected in the Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2, stating that the organization “will closely monitor” the matter in the coming days.
“It is extremely important to put all the facts on the table and, to that end, it is something that we will be closely monitoring in the coming hours and days, in close cooperation with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies and our partner , guest, soon to become a NATO member, Sweden,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
The head of the Atlantic Alliance stressed that the Alliance is following “with great concern” the information on leaks in Russian gas pipelines and insisted that the transatlantic organization “will closely monitor” the situation, “in close contact” with Denmark and Sweden, affirming that now Russia “is using energy as a weapon”.
“Using energy as an instrument in an armed conflict has consequences for all of us, such as a sharp increase in energy prices and also an increase in inflation,” he stressed.
The president of the European Commission has also added that she has already spoken with the Danish prime minister about what she considers “an act of sabotage” to the Baltic Sea gas pipelines.
On Twitter, Ursula Von der Leyen says that “any deliberate disruption of Europe’s energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response,” without saying which one.
The priority, he writes, is to “investigate the incidents” and draw conclusions about the reasons for the gas leaks.
I talk to @statisticsmin Frederiksen on the sabotage action #northstream.
Paramount is now investigating the incidents, getting 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.
– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 27, 2022
Suspicions of possible sabotage hang over the three leaks identified in the Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, which “alarmed” the Kremlin and caused Denmark to declare an emergency in the country’s electricity and gas sectors. Both pipelines were out of service before the leaks, but filled with gas.
The Danish authorities had initially reported a leak in Nord Stream 2, in Danish waters of the Baltic Sea, and later indicated that there were two more leaks in Nord Stream 1, one in Nordic waters and one in neighboring Sweden, near the island of Bornholm.
“No version should be ruled out,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his daily telephone briefing, when asked if it was a case of sabotage.
Information from security circles in Germany maintains that there are many indications that the gas pipelines were deliberately damaged in an act of sabotage, the Tagesspiegel newspaper wrote.
Sweden’s National Seismic Service said on Tuesday that two explosions were detected near the site of leaks on Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in Baltic waters.
Underwater explosions were recorded shortly before these unusual leaks were identified.
Source: TSF
