Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed Wednesday that it appeared no European countries were going to properly investigate the series of explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September.
“After the explosions on the Nord Stream — which, it appears, nobody in the European Union is going to investigate objectively — Russia stopped gas transportation through the northern routes,” Lavrov told the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) virtual summit.
Swedish and Danish authorities have been investigating the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines linking Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.
In November, Swedish prosecutors claimed the blasts at the pipeline were caused by an act of sabotage after evidence of explosives was discovered at the sites, though did not name possible culprits.
Created to funnel gas from Russia into the European Union, the 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 since the February invasion of Ukraine.
They were controversial long before Russia waged war on Ukraine for the significant leverage they gave Moscow over Europe. But until this year, European countries have been reluctant to wean themselves off Russian energy given the potential for rising prices.