Official statements from countries directly involved in the gas leaks of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea are still very general. Nonetheless, Russian observers and experts did not hesitate to accuse the United States of being behind the incident.
Only Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s statement was clearer. He suggested Russia was behind what he called an act of sabotage. And said it could be a signal from Moscow that it was unclear how it would respond to the latest developments. But Russia is still waiting for the EU to comment on the statement by former Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski. The latter posted a photo from the site of the gas leak with the words “Thanks to America.”
unprecedented destruction
Gazprom announced “unprecedented disruption” of three EU gas pipeline chains at the same time. And it also clarified that “it is still impossible to predict how long it will take to restore the natural gas transportation infrastructure.”
In any case, the North Stream accident could bring more uncertainty to the natural gas market. And the accident could drive up prices again. And this will further aggravate Europe’s energy crisis.
find out the beneficiaries
On the political front, the unanimous view of the incident among Russian experts stems from the actions of the U.S. government in the project. The project has long been the subject of conflict between Moscow and Washington and other Western capitals. They argue that the program’s operations have been affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow, from the arrest of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Therefore, Alexander Duchak, a researcher at the Institute of CIS countries and an economic expert, believes that what he calls “acts of sabotage” are in the interests of the United States. Because the U.S. has been “doing everything possible to stop the operation of the Russian gas pipeline to Europe.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Duchak mentioned that US President Joe Biden had publicly threatened to “terminate” the project. He also said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz himself had been afraid for a long time to include the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on a list of possible sanctions against Russia. And for a long time, he has shied away from addressing or dealing with the problem.
Suspect
Duchak also said that other than vandalism, no other possible scenarios could be thought of. Because all the data rule out the assumption of chance, especially given that Russia discovered on September 2, 2022, that a U.S. military helicopter was flying in the same area as the most recent incident.
He explained that Washington also forced Europeans to reject the project, which was beneficial to European countries. Now, due to protests in Germany and other countries, coupled with the demands of local people and businessmen to start the project, the United States has to take measures to block the pipeline.
Duchak pointed out that the European continent has now begun to face some very serious problems, such as wildly rising prices, the shutdown of a large number of companies and institutions, and the relocation of large European companies to operate in the United States. And this can only clearly demonstrate one thing, that these European companies have lost their competitiveness in the face of American companies.
Two birds with one stone
Duchak believes that the interruption of Russia’s gas pipeline not only paved the way for American companies to sell gas to Europe at high prices, but also deprived Russia of an important source of revenue. On top of that, it could really destroy the economies of European countries. The US media is expected to begin “writing stories and narratives” about the alleged sabotage carried out by Russian operatives.
Anton Bredekin, director and academic director of the Center for Ethnic and International Studies, believes that the “disruption” of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines will be good for Poland, as the opening of the Baltic gas pipeline will Bring Norwegian gas to the country.
According to Bredkin, “the Americans diverted their influence customers in the EU to give Poland access to Norwegian gas”. But he asserts that this will not save Europe. Because compared to their Russian counterparts, these pipelines have less capacity to transport gas. And he also said that Poland is an American country, not an EU country.
existential threat
He believes the next few days will reveal how far the continent can survive without Russian gas. Because other alternatives are not enough to save it.
As for military expert Vladislav Shurygin, he believes that what is happening now hits Germany as it separates it from Russian gas. He also explained, “No one can tolerate the fact that North Stream will continue to exist.”
Shuligin listed Poland, Britain and the Baltic states, as well as Ukraine, among the beneficiaries of the “pipeline damage” accident. He believes these countries are putting pressure on Germany economically because they want to increase gas shipments to Europe through their territories.
In addition, Washington is unlikely to act directly, but will use the “other hand” with excellent special navies such as the United Kingdom and Poland. “It is necessary to investigate the identity of the ship that was sailing at the site of the accident,” he said. “And if it wasn’t the ship, it was the saboteur. They probably left the submarine under the cover of the CIA.”