09-28-2022, 01:53 PM
European countries on Tuesday raced to investigate unexplained leaks in two Russian gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark, infrastructure at the heart of an energy crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Several European officials said sabotage appeared to be the likely cause, while Russia — which built the network — did not rule it out.
Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland said Tuesday that the initial information received about the leaks indicated “acts of sabotage.” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and her Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, both said the incident was likely “deliberate” but played down the possibility of a military threat.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters,” “No option can be ruled out right now.”
Both pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between European capitals and Moscow that has pummeled major Western economies, sent gas prices soaring and sparked a hunt for alternative energy supplies.
According to pipeline operator Nord Stream AG, it is not currently possible to estimate “a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure.”
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