Russia on Wednesday asked to participate in the investigation into the leakage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, after Sweden, which is responsible for the investigations, denied access to the area of ​​this possible sabotage in the Baltic Sea.
"There should be an investigation, of course, with the participation of Russia," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Verchinin was quoted by the Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti as saying.
The UN Security Council met Friday to discuss the issue of the gas leak, which angered Moscow. Russian gas shipments through these pipelines are already on hold amid the tensions linked to the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Verchinin, "the common opinion" during the meeting at the United Nations was "that it was an act of sabotage and that the investigation was necessary", expressing regret that "no decision has been taken" on the conduct of such an international investigation.
He also stressed the necessity of the participation of Germany, which Nord Stream 1 and 2 arrives from Russia, in the investigation.
Sweden, for its part, launched the investigation and, since Monday, denied access to the area of ​​the leak "in order to conduct an investigation at the crime scene".
A gas leak at four sites of the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea was caused by undersea explosions equivalent to hundreds of kilograms of explosives, a Danish-Swedish report said Friday.
The Swedish Coast Guard said Monday that no leaks could be seen in the Baltic Sea from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, but a smaller leak from Nord Stream 2 was still visible.
The source and perpetrators of the explosions are still a mystery, while Moscow and Washington deny responsibility for the incident.The head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said that the leaks "are nothing but an act of international terrorism, the consequences of which could be significant for the European population."
"It is clear that the United States is the beneficiary, and above all economically," he was quoted by Russian news agencies from Crimea.
Moscow insists on participating in the investigation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline leak
