Nord Stream leaks: Identifying the culprits

It would be hard to digest the thesis implicating Russia in the incidence of pipe-leaks as there seems to be no motivation for Russia to do so.

Both the United States and the 27 member-European Union have alluded the leaks in the Nord Stream1 and 2 gas pipelines, running from Russia to Germany, might have been part of a Russia-masterminded sabotage. US President Joe Biden has not directly accused Moscow for the leaks. He said the leaks in the pipelines were a "deliberate act of sabotage" and accused Russia and President Vladimir Putin of "pumping out disinformation and lies."

On his part, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said, "All available information indicates those leaks are the result of a deliberate act." Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called the damage an "act of sabotage." His Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen has viewed the leaks as 'deliberate actions'.

Observers say it would be hard to digest the thesis implicating Russia in the incidence of pipe-leaks. There seems to be no motivation for Russia to do so. The sabotage does not benefit it at all. In the wake of the war in Ukraine, the United States and the EU have embargoed on imports of oil from Russia. The pipelines in question are not currently delivering any Russian fuel to Europe. In order to survive economically, Russia has increased its oil export to China.

To get to the root of the pipeline leaks, the parties that might have motivations to cause them need to be identified. For this purpose, the functioning of the clean energy sector and its political accomplices may have to be looked into objectively. The Ukraine crisis and the US-EU embargo on Russian oil have led the prices oil and natural gas to soar all-time highs.

The masters of the clean energy sector might have been lying in wait to create conditions perpetuate the Russian oil-related crisis and benefit themselves. There are reports that US President Joe Biden and his close aides might have planned the damage to the pipelines much earlier.

In a news video, President Biden is heard telling the media as early as on February 7, 2022, much before Russia started its 'special military operation' in Ukraine, that "If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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