Sabotage threatens critical energy networks, the Russian president says
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) should strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure facilities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday while meeting with the group’s security chiefs.
The CIS is a regional intergovernmental organization covering Eastern Europe and Asia that was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Russian president said that “increased security measures should be taken in relation to critical transport and energy infrastructure. It is these facilities, as well as high population areas, that should be protected as much as possible."
Putin stated that the Nord Stream incident demonstrates that sabotage poses a threat to the whole European energy network.
“They have no aversion to direct sabotage. I mean organizing explosions on the international gas pipelines of Nord Stream. In fact, we are talking about the destruction of the pan-European energy infrastructure,” Putin said.
According to the Russian leader, such acts are committed despite the fact that they cause enormous damage to the European economy and significantly worsen the living conditions of millions of people.
“And, in fact, they keep quiet about who did it, whose interest it serves,” he said.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were rendered inoperable on September 26 following a series of powerful underwater explosions off the Danish island of Bornholm. The Nord Stream operator described the state of emergency on the gas pipelines as unprecedented and said it was impossible to estimate the repair time.
Moscow has denounced the incident as a terrorist attack and called for an investigation. Meanwhile, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, who do not rule out targeted sabotage, have said they will not grant Russia access to the investigation. The Kremlin then declared that it would not recognize the results of the probe unless Russian experts are invited to take part.
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