The expert spoke about the possible consequences of the accident at Nord Stream

MOSCOW, 28 Sep — PRIME. A gas leak from the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines due to explosions will hinder the supply of Russian fuel to European markets and be regarded by Moscow as a terrorist act, said Ivan Timofeev, Program Director of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).

Earlier, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that the incidents with gas leaks from the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were due to “explosions”.

“It was obvious that this event was man-made. The findings of the Swedish side only confirm this,” the expert said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to him, this incident will have serious political consequences, starting with the fact that it will interfere with the supply of Russian fuel to European markets, and ending with the fact that it can be regarded, first of all, by the Russian side, as a hostile, or even terrorist act.

Timofeev also noted that the statement of former Polish Foreign Minister Radoslav Sikorsky, who thanked the United States the day before for the accidents on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines, looks very strange and provocative. At the same time, the analyst emphasized the importance of facts, not reactions.

“If it turns out that Sikorsky pointed to the executor of these events, and this is confirmed by the examination, then this is a serious hostile step that could lead to serious political consequences,” Timofeev added.

On Monday, Nord Stream 2 AG reported that on one of the lines of Nord Stream 2 (it was filled with technical gas after construction), an emergency occurred in Danish waters near the island of Bornholm, accompanied by a sharp drop in pressure. The reasons are unknown, an investigation is underway, the company specified. Then Nord Stream AG, the operator of Nord Stream, reported on the pressure drop on both lines. The reasons are also not known.

According to information from the Danish and Swedish authorities, two gas leaks were discovered at Nord Stream in the northeast of Bornholm Island and one at Nord Stream 2 in the southeast of the island.

As Bloomberg reported, Germany and Denmark did not rule out that the leaks at Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 were due to sabotage. The Swedish seismic center said that powerful underwater explosions were registered in the area of ​​gas leaks from Nord Stream on Monday, a journalist from the Swedish TV channel SVT reported. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde on Tuesday evening also said that the incidents with gas leaks from the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were due to “explosions”. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, after the emergency threatened to respond to the “deliberate violation” of the European energy infrastructure, without specifying who could be behind the incident.

The White House said a little earlier that the United States would not “speculate” about the causes of leaks at Nord Stream and were ready to provide assistance to European countries.