Denmark discards Russia’s inclusion in Nord Stream sabotage investigations

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN (AA) - Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Thursday quashed the probability of Russia’s inclusion in the ongoing Nord Stream sabotage investigations.

“Denmark, Sweden and Germany all have rule of law and one can have confidence in our investigations,” Rasmussen said in a press briefing.

The foreign minister said the three countries have initiated an inquiry into the explosion at the Nord Stream pipelines that happened in September last year.

The official policy remark came in the backdrop of the statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, calling on Copenhagen to allow Moscow to be part of the probe.

Two of the four leakages in the Nord Stream were in the Danish territory while the others in Sweden.

“The owners of the Nord Stream pipeline are able to inspect the pipelines. It is in this context that an object was observed,” Rasmussen said. “We have told the Russians that we will investigate this thoroughly. And when we have done that, we will announce the results of that investigation.”

The Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged last September, and explosions caused extensive damage to the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea.

According to local media last week, German investigators a week before uncovered evidence that showed a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines last year.

The group, made up of five men and one woman, traveled to the northern city of Rostock in September 2022, rented a yacht using fake passports, and sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines, public broadcaster ARD reported.

The yacht used in the operation was rented by a company based in Poland, which was apparently owned by two Ukrainians, according to the investigators.

The group was believed to have consisted of two divers, two assistants, one captain, and a medic.