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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's reply to a media question on the investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Streams

22 January 2024 17:59
74-22-01-2024

Question: The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency decided that Sweden is not obliged to include in its national quota the 5.8 million tonnes of harmful substances that were released into the air due to the act of sabotage at the Nord Stream gas pipelines. What do you think about this?

Maria Zakharova: This decision shows that Stockholm is trying to avoid paying large fines for exceeding EU-established standards. It is trying to justify its decision by referring to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, insisting that the kingdom's jurisdiction cannot be applied to the foreign pipelines in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. Thus, they concluded that Sweden is not responsible for the harmful emissions into the environment due to the bombing of the gas pipelines that run between Russia and Germany.

In addition, more questions about Stockholm's role in this unseemly episode are raised in connection with Swedish media reports on the Swedish Belos rescue ship with its special equipment for underwater work. It arrived promptly at the site of the crime and collected some "precious evidence," including explosives residue.

Far from facilitating a meticulous and unbiased investigation into the deliberate sabotage of the operation of a large international energy facility, the Swedish authorities are not willing to share out its environmental consequences.

The Danish authorities are not interested in a serious investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines either. Copenhagen and Stockholm continue to reject any interaction with Russia on this issue. In December 2023, the Prosecutor-General's Office of Denmark refused a request from its Russian counterpart to provide legal assistance in investigating the act of sabotage on the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines.

Despite the artificial obstacles, we will continue insisting on a transparent and depoliticised investigation into these acts with the participation of competent Russian agencies and with Gazprom.