The United States denied responsibility for the Nord Stream pipeline leaks near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
A senior U.S. military official told reporters that the U.S. was “absolutely not involved” in the incident during a briefing on Wednesday, though the official could not confirm whether the leaks were caused by a deliberate act.
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“The jury is still out,” the official said, briefing Pentagon reporters on the condition of anonymity. “Many of our partners, I think, have determined or believe it is sabotage. I’m just — I’m not at the point where I can tell you one way or the other.”
The Council of the European Union described the incident as “a deliberate act” and “not a coincidence.”
“The European Union is deeply concerned about damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that has resulted in leaks in the international waters of the Baltic Sea. Safety and environmental concerns are of utmost priority. These incidents are not a coincidence and affect us all,” the statement added. “Any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable and will be met with a robust and united response.”
“These are deliberate actions, not an accident,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters Tuesday. “The situation is as serious as it gets.”
Despite the allegations that Russia was responsible for the blasts, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday that President Joe Biden has to answer whether the U.S. was responsible.
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“US President Joe Biden must answer the question of whether the United States carried out its threat on September 25 and 26 when an emergency was reported at three lines of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, which has been preliminarily recognized as ruptures, whereas he suggested those were blown up,” she said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
In September, Gazprom announced it would suspend all natural gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1 to Europe indefinitely. Nord Stream has not yet begun operation after Germany stated it would not approve Nord Stream 2 until the second half of 2022.
