NATO on Thursday formally labeled the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines as “sabotage” and warned that attacks on an ally’s “critical infrastructure” could be met with a response, although the pipelines are owned mainly by Russia.
“All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage,” NATO’s North Atlantic Council said in a press release. “Any deliberate attack against Allies’ critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response.”
Russia’s state gas company Gazprom is the sole owner of Nord Stream 2 and is the majority shareholder in Nord Stream 1. Both pipelines connect Russia to Germany, but Nord Stream 2 has never delivered gas to Europe as the project was paused by Berlin around the time Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday labeled the incident as sabotage in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Kremlin said that Putin “gave a principled assessment of the unprecedented sabotage, which is in fact an act of international terrorism against the main gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2.”
An unprecedented amount of Russian gas has poured into the Baltic Sea, which experts say resulted in what could amount to the largest-ever single release of methane gas. Gas is still leaking as Danish authorities said both pipelines should be empty by Sunday.
While Russia has little motive to attack its own pipeline, Western officials and media outlets are insinuating that Moscow could be responsible. But Russia has questions for the US after Radek Sikorski, a former Polish Foreign Minister and current Member of European Parliament, thanked the US for attacking the pipelines on Twitter.
Sikorski has since deleted the tweet, but Russia is expected to bring up his comments during a UN Security Council meeting on the issue on Friday. Moscow also has questions about previous threats against Nord Stream 2 from President Biden.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, President Biden said the US would “bring an end” to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. When asked how that would be possible since Germany is involved in the project, Biden said, “I promise you, we will be able to do that.”
Over the years, the US worked hard to oppose Nord Stream 2 by imposing sanctions but failed to stop its construction. It was always possible that the pipeline could have been brought online if relations between Europe and Russia were repaired, but now Nord Stream AG is saying that it’s impossible to know if either pipeline can be repaired.
Such an environmental disaster.
It’s gas, not oil.
Still is; lots of VOC hydrocarbons dumped in the atmosphere. Also, that energy will be replaced with coal burning for the foreseeable future.
A mere blip in the world atmosphere. Volcanoes regularly dump far more.
Clean coal tech works. Coal is a reliable base load provider. And wd gog lots of it.
NATO labels it sabotage.
Buhahahahahah…no really…Buhahahahahah
This whole war has been about Nordstream. The US never wanted Russia to supply Europe with gas. It is bloody obvious who attacked the pipeline and it wasn’t Russia. Meanwhile, the citizens of Ukraine and Europe are suffering, many having to choose between food and heating.
So it goes.
NATO warns that “attacks on allies infrastructure” will be met with force”
Since this “infrastructure” belongs to Russia – Will they now attack one of their own to prevent these attacks?
You and I both know the answer to that is no, because a NATO country did the attack! There is literally no other explanation. Whether it was Poland or the US hasn’t been confirmed but whoever did it, did it with Washington’s approval if not resources.
It is a terrorist attack and disappointing that everything points ate UK+USA.
Pipelines are like bridges—via trade they bring nations together.
The pipeline was the existential threat to NATO and the US hegemon and those who want to maintain that order felt compelled to act.
I am sure that the NSA knows who did it.
To use the words of Thatcher: US and UK were probably worried that Germany and EU would “go wobbly”
so they had to fix the decision.
It is a tad worrying though…
It is actually so trasparent. UK especially always wanted to have its European rivals noit get too powerful. UK did its best to control the power of Germany while in EU. But German economy was growing. The combinstion of industrial prowess, easy access to olentiful cheap energy and huge Chinese market. All that, and without being beholden to pitfalls of “freedom” of navigation. Transcontinental train transport from hina and rest of Asia to German land port in Duisburg became a distrubution center fot otger European countries, Coveniently that eill stop as well.
UK getting out of EU was UK banking elite’s calculated risk — partner with US to hit two birds with one stone. Provoke Russia by subjecting Russians in Ukraine to Gestapo style horrors. Then using sanctions to weaken Russia, and force all European countries to committ suicide by “weaning” themselves from Russia’s energy, This will destroy Germany’s industry. What a tragedy itvwas for Germany to let “Greens” to grab foreign policy snd economy portfolios. They are globalists, in service to global empire. Germany to be sacrificed in its altar.
But UK has learned hard way — there is no free lunch, With pound crashing, and Bank of England having to intervene to save it — UK will learn to be a good behaving poodle. Buy from US.
There us a ootential salvation — Turk Stream. Rusdian gas pipelune to Turkey, across Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary to Austria and connection to Germany, All already functioning.
This is why if Us cannot lean in Bulgaris — then another sabotage is comming.
How can it be ZERO comments on an unprecedented act of terrorism & war???
Between two superpowers which may spark WWIII & end life as we knew it, to an apocolyspsical nightmare of suffering, sickness, starvation and death in the darkness in the cold. Has everyone been struck dumb by this dangerous act. Who are the suspects who have threatened this act and have capability to act? Who, but Biden has threatened just such an act, and has the resource to act???
It wasn’t Santa Clause, or an extreme environmentalist or any unknown NUT, it most likely was that senile American president, Ole Joe Biden, is there anyone else that fits the bill….??????????? Here is a video of Ole Joe making threats on the pipeline; https://youtu.be/jLb0QeCQF_I?t=238
“How can it be ZERO comments on an unprecedented act of terrorism & war???”
It’s because we’ve become inured by the enormity of Washington criminality: 9/11, 22 bio-weapons labs in Ukraine, CoVid-19, …, the word “unprecedented” is not apposite.
Putin did not weaponize energy, the pipeline was operational and all the Germans had to do was to open the spigots. There is no other plausible explanation than the Biden government sabotaged the pipeline. It is really a declaration of war by the USA on Germany, a loyal ally.
The goal is to demolish the economic competition of Germany and with it the EU. When in all of history ever did a nation cut the throat of a loyal ally the way Biden did? Why, how is that possible, what an evil old demented man Biden is and the people in his administration.
It is well known that Americans never consider the needs of other nations, the USA is just a lawless pariah, with a criminal government.
Morally on the same level with Hitler.
NATO labels Nordstream sabotage and will investigate it and find the those responsible in the same way that OJ Simpson, upon being found not guilty, declared that he would investigate and apprehend those responsible for the murder of his ex-wife. Details await.
Joe will write a book titled, “If We Did It”, describing how we did it.
He forgot already.
Thanks for the laugh… 🙂
Available in boxes of Cracker Jacks!
NATO seems to be fraying about the edges…
Indeed. So why did you do it NATO?
He deleted his Tweet!!! Unbelievable. Is anyone going to ask him what he meant? The blowing up of Nord Stream is a criminal act which is sure to have terrible consequences. Whoever did this will want to cover his tracks.
That Baltic Pipeline is begging for it. Maybe that’s what NATO is hoping for. A Russian response.
Obviously it was sabotage.
The questions are who did it, who knew about it, and who is hiding that now.
The question is, who benefits and who loses?
and who has the resources to do it? After eliminating Russia, Germany, UK, Ukraine only the USA is left as the only plausible possibility with the motivation, the know how, equipment, and funding.
This attack brings us back to the Watergate Questions: What did Biden know, and when did he know it?
Impeachment would be a fair response to irresponsible, reckless warmongering. He’s going to get a lot of people killed if he’s not stopped.
I’ve got a bad vibe on Putin…
The ones responsible for the sabotage are the same as those who staged the 2014 coup.
Fu**k the Europeans seems to be the motto.
NATO is behaving like an organization from a James Bond movie and is attacking its own. The putsch in Turkey, I have no doubt, was a NATO operation. That explains Erdogan’s shift towards Russia and now the Shangai security organization.
The attack on the pipelines is to squash Germany’s demonstrators demands for activation of the NS2.
There are some really sinister forces operating in NATO. They are becoming more autocratic by the day.
The only question is who did it, Americans or Anal Swab?