Days after the unprecedented gas leak from three underwater pipelines of the Nord Stream system, a Chinese diplomat took to Twitter on Saturday (October 1) to insinuate an American hand behind the incident.
Cao Yi, the former Chinese ambassador to Iraq and Lebanon, mocked the US administration for allegedly sabotaging the natural gas pipeline and pretending to not know about it. The archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.
He wrote, “Who hates the Russian pipelines? USA. Who tried to stop them (from) being built? USA. Who said they would destroy them? USA. Who benefits from their destruction? USA. Who destroyed them? We have no idea.”
— 曹 毅 CAO Yi أبو وسيم (@CaoYi_MFA) October 1, 2022
In late September, explosions took place in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm. The incident led to leaks in both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines that connect Russia and Germany.
As per reports, the pipelines were not transporting gas during the time of the explosion although they were filled with gas. In the aftermath of the incident, huge gas bubbles (up to 1km in diameter) were spotted on the surface of the Baltic Sea.
The European Union and the United States have labelled the underwater explosions as an act of sabotage but did not directly name Russia. Kremlin denied any involvement in the incident and expressed grave concern.
Adrienne Watson, White House National Security Council spokeswoman, remarked, “We’re not going to let Russia’s disinformation distract us or the world from its transparently fraudulent attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory.” said Friday.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, has blamed the United States for sabotage. “American liquefied natural gas suppliers should be celebrating the manifold increase in LNG supplies to Europe,” he said.
Vladimir Putin also accused the Anglo-Saxons, who earlier imposed sanctions on the country, for damaging the Nord pipelines. Meanwhile, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has pointed out that the Nord Stream pipeline incident is the biggest single release of methane ever recorded.
