The Russian leadership is demanding an investigation into the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea and is presenting the United States as the prime suspect, National Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Friday.
Patrushev accused the West of launching a campaign against Russia as soon as the leaks became known. It is therefore necessary to intensify the cooperation of the secret services within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – a loose association of former Soviet states – and to reveal the “customers and agents of crime”, he said at a meeting of the heads of the intelligence service of the CIS. Since Monday night, a total of four leaks have been found on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. NATO assumes sabotage.
Civil society crackdown: “Russia has relevant experience”
Patrushev also called for joint legal action against Western-controlled NGOs and media. This is to prevent revolutions. “Russia has the relevant experience and is willing to share it,” he said. In recent years, Russia has consistently curtailed press freedom and banned more and more NGOs. Patrushev, once the head of Russia’s secret service, is considered a longtime confidant of President Vladimir Putin.
US: Too early for speculation
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says speculation about leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines is premature. “As for the attack on or damage to the pipelines, there is a lot of speculation at the moment. But frankly, no one will be able to say for sure what happened until a full investigation is done,” Austin said. He discussed the incident with his Danish colleague on Wednesday, who told him it would be a few days before a team on site could look at the leaks and assess the damage.
Danish security and energy expert Trine Villumsen Berling said Friday in the Ö1 “Tomorrow Journal” that she had no doubts that a state actor was behind the sabotage action. The coverage in the Russian media, in which another fake news campaign has been launched in recent days that is known about the start of construction of Nord Stream 2, arouses suspicion towards Russia.
Expert: Russia wants to continue to show what it is capable of in the West
It was probably not the primary goal to further destabilize the gas supply in Europe, because you should have struck elsewhere. According to the expert, Moscow is sending a political signal far beyond its traditional sphere of influence in the eastern Baltic: the government in Moscow just wants to sow fear and show what it is capable of – and that on the eve of the opening of the new “Baltic” pipeline from Norway to Poland. “It is an escalation of a conflict that was previously confined far into Europe to Russia and Ukraine.”
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
