Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes in
the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines which link Russia and Germany
via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine
crisis.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sweden's
refusal to engage with Russian prosecutors was "confusing" and
said Moscow had a right to know the details of the probe into
the explosions, which occurred last September.
Moscow proposed to Stockholm the establishment of a joint
investigation into the blasts, which could see three of the four
lines of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas projects put permanently
out of use. But both Sweden and Denmark have rejected the idea
of Russian participation.
At a briefing in Moscow on Thursday, Zakharova suggested there
were reasons for that decision.
"Maybe Russian investigators, conducting an objective
investigation, could come to an inconvenient conclusion... about
who conducted this act of sabotage, terrorism. About who thought
it up, and who carried it out," she told reporters.
Zakharova said Sweden was "concealing" facts about what it had
discovered in the investigation, suggesting that "the Swedish
authorities have something to hide".
Sweden and other European investigators say the attacks were
carried out on purpose, but they have not said who they think
was responsible. Moscow, without providing evidence, has blamed
the explosions on Western sabotage.
Construction of Nord Stream 2, designed to carry Russian gas to
Germany, was completed in September 2021, but was never put into
operation after Berlin shelved certification just days before
Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in February.
(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Gareth Jones)
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