NATO believes that damage to two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea is the result of sabotage.
FILE - A gas leak causes bubbles on the surface of the water at Sea in Sweden on Sept. 29, 2022.The NATO military alliance warned Thursday it would retaliate for any attacks on the critical infrastructure of its 30 member countries and joined other Western officials in citing sabotage as the likely cause of damage to two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
"All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage. These leaks are causing risks to shipping and substantial environmental damage," the envoys said. Rather than assigning blame to anyone specific, EU officials on Thursday said they would await the outcome of an investigation, which probably will not start in earnest until next week once the undersea pipelines are empty.
Two of the leaks are on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that Russia recently turned off as it ramped up energy pressure on Europe. The other two are on Nord Stream 2, which has never been used. The Danish and Swedish governments have said that they believe the leaks were "deliberate actions." Norway was among the first countries on Wednesday to beef up the protection of its energy installations. Finnish Finance Minister Annika Saarikko said Thursday that security measures have been tightened around the Balticconnector line running in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Estonia.
"It looks like a terror attack, probably conducted on a state level," Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
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