Moscow. March 25. INTERFAX - Russia, after requests to the UN related to the discovery of a beacon at the junction of the Nord Stream pipes, received a response that this item was not dangerous, and Moscow was again denied participation in the investigation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
In an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin for the program "Moscow.Kremlin.Putin", aired on Saturday on the Rossiya-24 TV channel (VGTRK), the president recalled that the beacon, according to Russian explosives experts, can serve as an antenna for receiving a signal either from the air or from space to initiate an explosive device.
"Having received this information, we honestly, as it should be, talked with the Danish authorities and suggested that they immediately, immediately, jointly and with the involvement of international experts, examine this site, believing that another explosive device could be planted there, which for some reason did not explode," he said. the president.
Russia, he said, received "a streamlined response that our services are not needed, and if it is necessary, we will be informed about it someday."
"After that, as you know, our representatives in the UN raised this issue for discussion, and just recently, on Thursday, in my opinion, we received a response from the Danish authorities in the form of a diplomatic note, which says that they examined this subject, they believe that it is not explosive. I think they should have been more honest to say that he is no longer explosive," Putin said.
During the examination, Putin noted, Russia was not allowed, so what was happening there at that time is unknown. "In any case, it was said that the organization itself (Nord Stream), and Gazprom is the sole shareholder there, but it is still considered international, foreign, since it is registered in Switzerland, they are ready to invite this organization, but they do not need the services of Russian specialists," the president said. RF.
Putin added: "I think it makes no sense for us to get in there now, because one of the NATO countries, in this case Denmark, said they had already examined it. We have already examined it, so this situation is no longer explosive."
At the same time, he stressed that the point was not to convict someone of something, but to ensure safety, and that there were no other explosions.
"But if the Danes say that it is no longer explosive, well, thank God," Putin concluded.
On March 24, the Danish Energy Agency announced that it had invited Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of Nord Stream 2, to participate in the lifting of an object discovered near the gas pipeline from the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
"In order to further clarify the nature of the object, the Danish authorities decided to raise the object. In this regard, the Danish Energy Agency has invited the pipeline operator - Nord Stream 2 AG - to participate in the operation," the message reads.
It is specified that the object has a cylindrical shape, a height of about 40 cm and 10 cm in diameter and, possibly, is a marine smoke buoy. According to Danish experts, he does not pose an immediate threat.
Nord Stream 2 AG added: "Nord Stream 2 AG has accepted an invitation from Denmark to take part in the operation (to extract an object found near the gas pipeline - IF) and is awaiting further information on plans for its organization from the Danish Energy Agency."
In September 2022, as a result of the explosion, two threads of the first Nord Stream and one of the Nord Stream 2 were depressurized near the Danish island of Bornholm. A criminal case has been opened in the Russian Federation under the article on an act of international terrorism. The Swedish special services have also concluded that the incident on the gas pipelines is a diversion. Denmark, Sweden, Germany continue to investigate the explosions.
At the same time, Copenhagen said that they would not give permission to the Russian side to participate in the investigation of the explosions. As Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lekke Rasmussen stated earlier, "the rule of law is in force in Denmark, Sweden and Germany, so everyone can trust the investigations we are conducting."