Russia asks Germany to investigate Nord Stream pipeline blasts

Moscow: Russia has officially requested Germany to investigate the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

Russia is pushing for negotiations to ensure Germany meets its international obligations in the fight against terrorism, said Oleg Tyapkin, Director of the Third European Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti, Xinhua news agency reported.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the progress of the German investigation, Tyapkin said that German authorities have recently issued an arrest warrant for one of the suspected perpetrators, a Ukrainian national.

He noted that German media have been 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 true masterminds behind the sabotage.

"Russia will not accept this state of affairs," Tyapkin said, adding that Moscow has formally lodged complaints with Germany and other affected countries, urging them to fulfill their obligations under United Nations anti-terrorism conventions.

"We are seeking negotiations in accordance with existing international protocols. Our future actions will depend on the West's response," he added.

German media recently reported that the German prosecution has issued an arrest warrant for Ukrainian citizen in connection with the pipeline explosions. Reports identified this suspect as diver Vladimir Zhuravlev 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 sustained severe damage in the territorial waters of Sweden and Denmark. Prior to 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 put into operation, and Germany halted imports of Russian natural gas, leading to a sharp increase in domestic energy prices.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has launched an investigation into the incident as an act of international terrorism. Russia has repeatedly requested information on the explosions but has not received any response, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.