Moscow is “perhaps” not responsible for the explosions, according to Western sources cited by the American daily about the sabotage of gas pipelines on September 26.
After months of investigation, many Western officials “say in private» that Russia may not be the source of the gas pipeline explosions Nord Stream submarines, unveiled on Wednesday the washington post .
““There is no evidence at this stage that Russia was behind the sabotage,” a European official said” anonymous, reports the American daily, which affirms that the “Moscow’s condemnation was swift and widespread“.
No “conclusive” evidence
To date, the investigation carried out by experts with knowledge “of theforensic details“failed to link”conclusively Russia on the attack“, recalls the newspaper which underlines, then, the American clandestine listening “communications from Russian officials and military forces”, which did not make it possible to prove the responsibility of Russia in the incident. “Analysts have not heard or read statements from the Russian side taking credit or suggesting they were trying to cover up their involvement“, details the washington post.
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Investigators combed through the debris and analyzed the explosive residue recovered from the bed of the Baltic Sea. Given the relatively shallow depth of the damaged pipes, “different actors could have carried out the attack“, continues the newspaper. Of the “submersible drones” or some “surface shipsmay have caused the incident.
Asked by the washington posta “German government official, who is conducting his own investigation, said explosives appeared to have been placed outside the structures“. For seismologists, three explosions sounded on September 26, causing four leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipes. This accident resulted in one of the largest releases of methane.
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Russia still suspected
However, “Russia remains a major suspect” in view of his recent actions of infrastructure bombings civilians in Ukraine. By attacking Nord Stream, the Kremlin could have sought to destabilize “NATO’s determination» and to weaken the «allies who depend on Russian energy sources“.
But for someskeptics», «Moscow had little to gain from damaging gas pipelinesbecause they generatedbillion dollars in annual revenue“. Throughout Vladimir Putin’s tenure, energy is used as a “instrument of political and economic leverage“. The Kremlin delights in waving the threat of cuts to intimidate countries”so that they meet its objectives“.
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Thus, many “Officials lamented that so many world leaders pointed fingers at Moscow disregarding other countries, as well as extremist groups, that may have the ability and motive to carry out the attack“.
Quick accusations against Russia
As early as September 30, four days after the explosions, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told the BBC thatseemedthat Russia was to blame. “It is highly unlikely that these incidents are a coincidence“, she added.
For his part, the German Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck, had also hinted that Russia was responsible for the explosions. “Russia saying ‘It wasn’t us’ is like saying ‘I’m not the thief’Habeck told reporters in early October.
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Finally, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to call the explosions “of a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression against [l’Union européenne]“.
Attack attribution difficult
Since the incident, attribution of the explosions has been difficult. On November 11, the Kremlin accused the UK to be the cause of the sabotage. “Our intelligence services have evidence to suggest the attack was directed and coordinated by British military specialists“, had declared to the press the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov. In response, the British Defense denounced “false claims“.
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The prospect that the explosions will never be definitively attributed is a problem for countries like Norway, which has 9,000 kilometers of undersea gas pipelines to Europe. A Norwegian official said his country was trying to tighten security around its own pipes and wider critical infrastructure. The Nordic country is also working with the UK, France and Germany to “intensify naval patrols» and try to «maintain the flow of oil and gas in the event of a new attack“.
Norway is also investigatingthe appearance of unidentified aerial dronesaround its oil and gas facilities during the Nord Stream attacks.