Lavrov Slams West’s Reaction to Nord Stream Explosions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Western media claims about the Nord Stream pipeline explosions shameful.

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"Attempts to explain, with reference to some Western intelligence services, that a certain Ukrainian oligarch was behind these explosions, I think, are shameful," Lavrov told a press conference Thursday.

The Western media's reaction to last September's explosions is disgraceful," the Russian foreign minister said, referring to a New York Times report on Tuesday claiming that the pipeline sabotage may have been carried out by a pro-Ukrainian group, according to intelligence data. 

Lavrov also said that "the [UN] secretary-general and his staff" have been shying away from reacting on the matter despite Russia's request to conduct an impartial investigation into the incident. 

In addition to the information published Tuesday by the New York Times, the German newspaper Zeit published a report claiming that the ship used by the saboteurs was rented by a company allegedly owned by Ukrainian nationals and registered in Poland.

The sabotage against three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines was reported on September 27, 2022. 

This incident triggered a criminal case opened by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office on charges of international terrorism.