American officials essentially admit that they were behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which was carried out in order to prevent the rapprochement between Moscow and Berlin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, as reported by oroszhirek.hu.
The United States decided that we (Russia) cooperated too well with Germany in the last 20-30 years, or rather the Germans cooperated with us too well, Lavrov said in an interview published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
"A strong alliance based on Russian energy resources and German technology began to threaten the monopoly position of many American companies," Lavrov explained.
So Washington was determined to destroy this alliance between Moscow and Berlin and did so "literally" by attacking the pipelines built to transport Russian gas through Germany to Europe, he added.
“U.S. officials essentially admit that the explosions at Nord Stream 1 and 2 were their doing. In fact, they are happy to talk about it," stated the foreign minister.
Lavrov was likely referring to the admission made by US Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland during a Senate hearing in late January.
"I, and I think the administration, are very happy that Nord Stream 2 is now ... a piece of metal at the bottom of the sea," Nuland said at the time.
"The nefariousness of Western politicians is well known," Lavrov continued, implying that "The plan that is now being implemented by inciting Ukraine against Russia and waging war against Russia by the entire West through Ukraine is largely aimed at preventing a new rapprochement between Germany and Russia .”
The comments by Russia's top diplomat came just days after American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report accusing Washington of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year .
According to the well-informed source who spoke with Hersh, divers of the US Navy placed explosives on the pipelines in the Baltic Sea as early as June 2022, under the pretext of a NATO exercise. They were detonated in late September, disabling key European energy infrastructure.
Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, denied the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist's report, calling it "totally false and a complete fabrication." No senior US official has yet commented on Hersh's allegations.
The Russian authorities have been claiming for months that only the United States benefited from the destruction of the Nord Stream, which has seen a massive increase in the delivery of more expensive liquefied natural gas to Europe since the explosions, the portal reads.
Source: Magyar Hírlap
Image: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
