Berlin may launch its own investigation into attacks on Nord Stream

BERLIN, 2 Oct – PRIME. If the suspicion of a deliberate undermining of the Russian Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines is confirmed, the German authorities may initiate their own investigation of what happened, said German Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Marco Buschman (FDP).

“Perhaps in this case a crime was committed in which the federal prosecutor could initiate criminal prosecution on his own behalf,” Buschmann said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag.

According to the minister, an official investigation will be launched if the suspicion of blowing up the Nord Streams is confirmed.

“We would have hunted down the perpetrators – with all the tools available to our constitutional state,” Bushman said.

Earlier, German Interior Minister Nancy Feser announced plans for Germany, Denmark and Sweden to create a joint investigation team to investigate the terrorist attacks on the Nord Stream.

Last Monday, terrorist attacks took place simultaneously on two Russian gas export pipelines to Europe. Germany, Denmark and Sweden do not rule out targeted sabotage. The Russian side officially requested information from Denmark about the emergency at Nord Stream as soon as the incident became known. The Danish authorities notified the Russian Federation about the explosions at the site of the gas leak. The Nord Stream operator Nord Stream AG reported that the state of emergency on gas pipelines is unprecedented and it is impossible to estimate the repair time.

The operation of Nord Stream has been suspended since the end of August due to problems with the repair of Siemens turbines caused by Western sanctions, but the pipeline remained filled with gas. Nord Stream 2, completed in 2021 but never put into operation, has also already been filled with gas.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation initiated the initiation of a case on an act of international terrorism after the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines.