Russia asks Germany to investigate Nord Stream pipeline explosions
MOSCOW, Aug 19: Russia has officially requested Germany to investigate the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Monday.
Oleg Tyapkin, director of the third European department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti that Russia is insisting on dialogue to fulfill its international obligations in the fight against terrorism, Xinhua news agency reported.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the progress of the German investigation, Tyapkin said German authorities recently issued an arrest warrant for one of the suspected perpetrators, a Ukrainian citizen.
He said German media are promoting the narrative that these individuals acted independently and were not connected to any state, but warned that this could lead to the investigation being closed without identifying the real masterminds behind the sabotage.
“Russia will not accept this situation,” Tyapkin said. He said Moscow has formally lodged a complaint with Germany and other affected countries, urging them to fulfill their obligations under UN counter-terrorism conventions. “We are seeking dialogue in accordance with existing international protocols. Our future actions will depend on the West’s response,” he said.
German media recently reported that German prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian citizen in connection with the pipeline explosions. Reports identified the suspect as Vladimir Zhuravlev, a diver from Kiev, who was allegedly assisted by a Ukrainian couple.
In September 2022, the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines exploded and caused severe damage in the territorial waters of Sweden and Denmark. Before the explosions, Russia used the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to transport natural gas from Siberia to Germany and other European countries. Due to the Russia–Ukraine conflict, Nord Stream 2 was never commissioned, and Germany halted imports of Russian natural gas, causing a sharp rise in domestic energy prices.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has launched an investigation into the incident as an act of international terrorism. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia has repeatedly sought information about the explosions but has received no answers.
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