The key facts
- In an article for Kommersant, Lavrov blamed the Nord Stream sabotage on 'curators from London'
- He linked the attack to sanctions pressure and 'theft of sovereign assets' as manifestations of unfair competition
- According to the minister, those responsible for destroying the pipelines have not yet been punished
Statement in an article for Kommersant
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the bombing of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea was organized 'under the guidance of curators from London.' The statement appears in his article 'The World Economy and Its Links to International Security', published by the newspaper Kommersant; this was reported by Life.ru and Gazeta.Ru.
Context: criticism of the world economy
In the article, Lavrov treats the pipeline bombing as one example of 'terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure,' which, in his assessment, have become 'routine manifestations of unfair competition,' alongside unilateral restrictive measures, their extension to third jurisdictions, and 'theft of sovereign assets.' Gazeta.Ru additionally lists the problems named by the minister: protectionist barriers to the spread of advanced technologies and the abuse of the status of reserve currencies and of insurance, freight, and exchange services.
Responsibility and the investigation
Lavrov stressed that those responsible for destroying the gas infrastructure have still not been punished, and linked this to 'a selective approach to international law.' According to him, this concerns an attack on a strategically important facility whose consequences affected the energy interests of several states.
What is known about the explosions themselves
The explosions on the two pipelines occurred on September 26, 2022, in the Baltic Sea. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden at the time did not rule out deliberate sabotage; investigations are ongoing, and Russia has repeatedly demanded that all organizers and perpetrators be identified. Lavrov's statement is the assessment of the Russian minister, not the result of an investigation: the publications provide no independent confirmation of London's involvement. Gazeta.Ru also recalls that in October, European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced an almost complete severing of the EU's energy ties with Russia, and that the European Commission expects to fully abandon Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027 and has banned resuming supplies via Nord Stream. It was previously also reported how long the trial in the Nord Stream bombing case would last.
