Moscow insists on a probe into the circumstances of "unprecedented attacks" on Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the Russian embassy to the United States announced on Wednesday.
"We note the attempts by some US legislators to put blame on Russia for the incidents that occurred on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines," it said, TASS reported.
"Perhaps, they have a better view from the top of Capitol Hill. But if that is the case, they must also have seen the US warships’ activities at the very site of the Russian infrastructure disruption just the day before. Or noticed drones and helicopters fly over there. Or observed US Navy exercises with underwater explosives that have been conducted in the same area some time ago. Finally, they should have recalled the promises made by President Biden to 'bring an end' to the Nord Stream 2 project," it added.
"What is obvious to us is that those who ponder about the incident seem to forget to ask the main question: who benefits from the pipelines’ rupture? The answer is on the surface. The decades-long energy trade between Moscow and Europe has long turned into an eyesore for Washington strategists. Unable to offer a decent alternative to reliable and, no less importantly, cheap supplies of gas, the US decided to 'squeeze out' Russia as a competitor using non-market methods and sanctions," the embassy noted.
"Washington is trying hard to get its allies hooked on an expensive and environmentally unfriendly LNG needle," it stated.
"For our part, we insist on the need for a comprehensive and objective examination of the circumstances of the unprecedented attacks on Russian pipelines. To discuss this issue, the Russian Federation will convene an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council," it stressed.
On Tuesday, Nord Stream AG reported "unprecedented damage" on three strings of the offshore gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was "extremely concerned about this news". He did not rule out that the disruption of the pipelines’ operation might have been a result of sabotage.
Later, Swedish seismologists noted they had identified two explosions on the routes the Nord Stream pipelines on Monday. The Head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, classified these incidents as sabotage.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell stated in a statement "any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response".
