New hypothesis over Nord Stream flayed

Putin and Western experts scoff at reports of non-state attack on pipelines, US seen as biggest blast beneficiary

Recent reports by several US and German media outlets that suggested the Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed by a pro-Ukrainian group have been blasted by both the Russian leadership and Western experts.

The critics also pointed out that the “terrorist” act could only have been conducted by the United States since it suited the latter’s interest.

In a report on March 7, the New York Times cited new intelligence suggesting that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September last year. The next day, the BBC reported that Ukraine had denied being involved in the explosions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said the theory that Ukrainian activists were involved in the Nord Stream explosions is “complete nonsense”, alleging that the United States is behind what he called a “terrorist attack.”

“Theoretically, the United States is certainly interested in stopping the delivery of Russian energy to the European market and supplying its own, including LNG, even if it is 25-30 percent more expensive than Russia’s,” Putin said in an interview with a Russian TV program.

He added that the terrorist attack was clearly committed at the state level because no amateurs could carry out such actions.

Russia has requested that the Danish authorities check the Nord Stream pipelines as explosive devices could still be planted there, but “the answer was vague ... They said that we have to wait,” Putin said.

The Nord Stream pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to European markets via Germany, were severely damaged following the blasts in the Baltic Sea. One pipeline, the Nord Stream 1, was in operation at the time of the explosion, while Nord Stream 2, though not yet operational, was filled with gas.

In an article published in February on the US portal Substack, investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh revealed that the United States had partnered with Norway in a topsecret operation in June 2022 to plant remotely triggered explosives that took out three of the four Nord Stream pipelines three months later.

Jan Oberg, director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, in a recent opinion article on his personal portal, also rebutted the claims made by US and German media that a non-state actor was responsible for the Nord Stream explosions.

The New York Times failed to identify a source for the claim that a rented yacht was used to perpetrate the act.

“How stupid do they think we are? A small pro-Ukrainian group in a yacht did what?” questioned the Swedish expert.

“Western ‘intelligence’ and the New York Times (are) in deeper waters than usual, offering us a devious spin and fake story.”

Oberg said that the “orchestrated mainstream Western media”, having kept silent on Hersh’s earlier analysis but are now reporting widely on the “fake” theory, have revealed “their journalistic and moral decay.”

Calling Hersh “truly independent, highly qualified, and well-connected”, Oberg insisted that the sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines “was done by the US with some help from Norway and perhaps others”.

Referring to comments by US President Joe Biden earlier “that the US would blow it up”, Oberg said an “interest analysis” would also lead to an obvious conclusion of US criminality.

“Who could have an interest in destroying this hugely important piece of energy infrastructure which … connected Europe to Russia? And who would have the technical and other capacities to do it?” he asked.

Adrien Welsh, general secretary of the Communist Party of Quebec in Canada, said on March 12 that independent investigations are needed to bring the truth of the explosions to light.

“Economic interests of oil and gas corporations from the West, these are interests that are being suited by this act of sabotage,” he said.

According to Welsh, it is a way to accelerate the dependency of the whole European continent on the US.

German parliamentarian Steffen Kotre said there is already ample evidence that the United States is behind the pipeline blasts.

In a recent exclusive interview with China Media Group, Kotre, a member of the German Bundestag, said the US has an incentive to attack the pipelines because they link Russia’s cheap energy with Germany’s advanced technology.

Russia provides Germany with cheap energy in exchange for advanced German technologies, and this has always been a thorn in the side of the United States, he noted.

“If we take all other factors into account, the conclusion is that only the United States can do this,” he said.

Hannes Fellner, associate professor from University of Vienna, said the Nord Stream pipelines could not have been destroyed without state-level support.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt Seymour Hersh. Over the decades, he has exposed crimes of the US government. There are strong indications that US is in some way involved in this attack, which is a form of massive international state terrorism,” he said.

Fellner believes that Russia would not destroy the pipelines that it had invested billions of dollars to build.

He said that the current failure to move the investigation forward might suggest that someone is trying to hide the truth. There should be an independent inquiry by the United Nations to avoid interference, Fellner added.

Reporting widely on the “fake” theory in regard to the Nord Stream pipeline blasts, mainstream Western media have revealed “their journalistic and moral decay”.

JAN OBERG

Director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research