MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said that it was “clear” that the United States had ordered the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which are crucial for transporting Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea.
Lavrov’s remarks came amid new developments in the investigation, including a recent arrest warrant issued by German prosecutors for a Ukrainian suspect.
Lavrov, speaking during a visit to Azerbaijan, reiterated Russia’s longstanding accusations of Western involvement in the pipeline attacks. “It is clear that to carry out such a terrorist attack, there was a command from the very top, as they say. The very top for the West is, of course, Washington,” Lavrov told Izvestia newspaper in a video interview published on Telegram.
The Nord Stream pipelines, which are vital for European energy supplies, were severely damaged in explosions in September 2022.
Last week, German prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian national in connection with the pipeline blasts.
According to The Wall Street Journal, investigations suggest that a Ukrainian team, allegedly under the direction of Kyiv’s then military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, carried out the explosions. The report further claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially approved the plan but sought to abort it once the CIA informed him of its awareness and issued warnings against proceeding.
Lavrov dismissed the idea that the attacks could be the work of a rogue group, calling such suggestions “not serious” and criticizing efforts to attribute the attacks to lower-level operatives. Moscow has consistently argued that the West, particularly the United States, was behind the sabotage as part of a broader strategy to disrupt European energy supplies.
