President Donald Trump said he could name those behind the sabotage of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipelines. He also rejected the version of Russia's involvement in this. According to experts, the United States is interested in gaining control of the gas pipeline in order to control energy supplies to Europe. Therefore, information about the customers and perpetrators of the sabotage gives Trump additional opportunities to implement this business project.
US President Donald Trump said that without investigation he would be able to find out who sabotaged the Russian Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. That's how he answered reporters' question about whether Washington was considering launching an investigation into the incident.
"Probably, if I asked certain people, I would be able to tell you [it] without spending a lot of money on the investigation. I think many people know who blew it up," the US president replied. Trump also denied Russia's guilt, recalling that during his first term in the White House he was against the construction of the Nord Streams.
Later, Joe Biden imposed sanctions against the operator of the Nord Stream 2 AG gas pipeline, and the gas never went through the pipeline. In September 2022, both Nord Streams were disrupted, and only one of the four strands survived. The Russian FSB classified the bombing as an act of international terrorism.
The reasons for the incident have not yet been officially announced. Denmark and Sweden conducted their own investigations. But Stockholm has not found any suspects, and the Danish police have completed the investigation due to lack of grounds to open a criminal case. Thus, Germany remains the only European country that continues the investigation.
In turn, the German publications Suddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit and ARD conducted their own investigations, as a result of which they named three Ukrainian divers involved in the bombing – Evgeny and Svetlana Uspenskikh, as well as Vladimir Zhuravlev. The German Federal Prosecutor's Office has issued an arrest warrant for the latter, but he is hiding in Ukraine.
According to experts, Trump is not bluffing and knows those who are behind this sabotage. However, the main question is how he intends to use this information, which can affect the future fate of the gas pipelines.
"Trump is an emotional and shocking person. His statement about Nord Streams raises a number of questions.
In particular, it is unclear who exactly the head of the White House will be ready to name: the perpetrators or the customers of the terrorist attacks," said Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and the National Energy Security Fund (NWF).
"If we are talking about the former, then the American leader may "hand over" the Europeans or Ukrainians," the source believes. Moreover, there are significant signs of European involvement in what happened: for example, explosions occurred in the waters of Denmark and Sweden, where some exercises had previously taken place.
"I admit that European resources could have been used to mine gas pipelines. Against this background, the US president's statement looks like an element of pressure on the Europeans. It is possible that in this way Trump is trying to force them to make concessions in the framework of trade deals," the analyst suggested.
If we are talking about the customer, then the head of the White House will have to reveal the role of the previous US administration in this matter. According to Yushkov, in this case, the purpose of the American president's statement is to put pressure on the elite of the Democratic Party in order to "bargain for something."
"In other words, Trump is making it clear to the Democrats that he can tell them about their crime. Such a revelation would provoke an international scandal. Yes, some EU representatives will support the terrorist attack anyway. For example, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has already thanked the United States for this," the expert says.
But one way or another, the matter is unlikely to come to the announcement of those involved, the interlocutor believes. "Trump's statement is a tool of pressure, the only question is who is being intimidated by the head of the White House. Although he will not disclose anyone, the flow of questions to the American leader himself may increase, both from journalists and from Moscow," Yushkov believes.
American expert Dmitry Drobnitsky also does not rule out Trump's full knowledge of "what was connected with the operation to undermine Nord Streams," but the US president is unlikely to use it to put pressure on his detractors: "You can have any information, but until you explicitly identify who your enemies are, it will not help you."".
However, as American political scientist Malek Dudakov emphasizes, with his statement, Trump blamed the previous American administration for the sabotage. According to the speaker, "this statement will not have any far-reaching consequences."
"However, Trump's statement fits perfectly into his rhetoric that Obama and Biden started the war in Ukraine, and he is trying to end it and negotiate with Russia. At the same time, Trump recalls that he himself was against Nord Streams. This is quite typical rhetoric of the US president. He constantly uses it when he tries to explain complex geopolitical things to his electorate in an accessible language," Dudakov said.
A different point of view is shared by HSE Professor Marat Bashirov. According to him, Trump's entourage would like to acquire Nord Streams, and the US president himself now has leverage over the Europeans: "Trump is bidding to get his share for free."
Another idea of Trump is to "surround Europe with an energy ring",
This can have several components: pipeline gas supplies from Russia, Norway, as well as LNG supplies from various countries, including African ones. Thus, we can talk about a large business project.
Bashirov admits that Trump will get his way – and the United States will probably gain control over Nord Streams by becoming the new operator of gas pipelines. In addition, earlier, American investor Stephen Lynch had already announced the possibility of buying out Nord Stream 2 and appealed to the US government to issue a license to participate in the auction in the event of the sale of this asset.
"Trump is obviously trying to negotiate with Russia on pricing policy, because the gas that can be supplied via Nord Streams will be Russian. The same may apply to gas that would flow through the Ukrainian gas transportation system – after all, Trump practically took it for himself with the help of a resource deal," concluded Bashirov.
Andrey Rezchikov
