"Your Silence Gives Consent"
(Plato) Sweden and Denmark, in whose exclusive economic zones the explosions occurred, have concluded the pipelines were blown up deliberately, but have not said who might be responsible.
Reuters by Lidia Kelly
Pipes for the NordStream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, which are not used, are seen in the harbour of Mukran, Germany, on September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer
Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia renewed its calls on Sweden late on Monday to share its findings from the ongoing investigation into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year.
The U.N. Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss "sabotage" after Moscow asked for an independent inquiry into the September attacks on the pipelines that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea.
Sweden and Denmark, in whose exclusive economic zones the explosions occurred, have concluded the pipelines were blown up deliberately, but have not said who might be responsible.
"Almost five months have passed since the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. All this time, however, the Swedish authorities, as if on cue, remain silent," Russia's embassy to Sweden said on the Telegram messaging platform. "What is the leadership of Sweden so afraid of?"
The embassy reiterated the Russian foreign ministry's question whether Sweden had something to hide over the explosions.
It also reiterated Moscow's stance, without providing evidence, that the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany.
Construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021, but was never put into operation after Germany shelved certification just days before Russia sent its troops into Ukraine a year ago this week.