Putin expressed hope for Denmark’s support in the Nord Stream investigation

Russia is counting on Denmark’s support in investigating sabotage on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the ceremony of presenting credentials to ambassadors in the Grand Kremlin Palace.

“Today, the Baltic Sea is literally restless. First of all, I will mention the sabotage that took place in September 2022 on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. We hope that the Danish side will support our proposal to establish an independent international commission to establish all the circumstances of the incident,” he said.

The explosion at Nord Stream occurred on the night of September 26, 2022. Pressure dropped in both pipelines. Two subsequently discovered leaks were in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Sweden, and two more were in the Danish EEZ. Initially, Germany, Sweden and Denmark agreed to conduct a joint investigation, but this idea was later abandoned. In October 2022, Sweden announced the completion of the investigation, stating “increasing suspicions of gross sabotage”, but those responsible for what happened were not named. Moreover, Sweden refused to hand over the results of the investigation to Russia.

On March 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian side offered the Danish authorities to form an international group of experts and conduct a survey of the Nord Stream lines, but received an ambiguous answer. 16 March Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen informedthat Copenhagen will not give Moscow permission to participate in the Nord Stream investigation. According to him, the investigations of Denmark, Sweden and Germany can be trusted, because in these countries “the rule of law reigns.”

Voting on a Russian Draft Resolution on the Creation of an International Commission to Investigate the Bombing of Nord Stream took place On March 27, the document did not receive the required number of votes. Only three countries voted “for” – Russia, China and Brazil. The rest abstained. To be adopted, the resolution must gain 9 out of 15 votes, and none of the permanent members of the Security Council should be against it.