The Kremlin has denied accusations of involvement in the Balticconnector incident

Russia has nothing to do with the incident on the Balticconnector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland. This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the statement of the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics about the “blocking” of the Baltic Sea for Russia.

“He actually spoke about the incident that took place on the Balticconnector and on the communication infrastructure. <...> And he just meant that if it turns out that Russia has anything to do with this – and I’ll immediately make a reservation that Russia has nothing to do with this – then, they say, you can think about closing the Baltic Sea to Russia. I repeat once again – Russia has nothing to do with this,” Peskov said.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics previously announced the need to close the Baltic Sea if Russia’s involvement in the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline, which runs between Estonia and Finland, is proven.

According to Peskov, the Latvian president should be asked what needs to be done with the Baltic Sea after the investigation into the Nord Stream explosions is completed, when it becomes clear who ordered and carried out this terrorist attack. “On this score, Mr. President chose to remain silent and say nothing,” he added.

On the afternoon of October 8, Finnish Gasgrid reported a drop in pressure in the Balticconnector at night. According to the company, the cause could be a leak. The Finnish government later admitted that this may have been due to a deliberate act. On October 11, the Finnish government’s Foreign and Security Policy Committee reported that the damage could have been caused by “external activities.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin October 13 commented happened, calling statements that Moscow was involved in the gas pipeline incident “bullshit.” The head of state noted that he did not even know about the existence of such a gas pipeline.

On October 17, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported that Finnish police were interested in the Russian container ship and focused on its activities. In addition, the police were also interested in the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear, which was passing by the Balticconnector at the time the mainline was damaged. Rosatom denied assumptions about the alleged involvement of the nuclear container ship Sevmorput in the accident.

Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that closing the Baltic Sea to Russian ships would be a gross violation of international law and have serious consequences.