The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were sabotaged in 2022, months after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out.
Swedish and Danish investigations into the Nord Stream case ended last year, but German prosecutors still issued an arrest warrant for the European arrest of a group of Ukrainian divers accused of departing from Germany to destroy the Russian gas pipeline.
Last week, Poland's judiciary extended a preliminary detention order for a Nord Stream suspect arrested in the country. Another Ukrainian was arrested in August this year at a resort near Rimini, Italy and is appealing the extradition to Germany.
Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of Poland's National Security Service and senior adviser to President Karol Nawrocki, told the Financial Times in an interview that Germany should stop prosecuting if it is to adjust its policy towards Russia in line with Poland and other NATO allies.
He pointed out that if Germany is prosecuting someone in Poland who was involved in destroying Russia's revenue, "there is clearly a conflict of interest between Poland and Germany, especially in the way we view reality" after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in 2022.
The Polish official emphasized: "From our perspective, this investigation is meaningless, not only considering the interests of Poland but also of the entire NATO bloc." He also said that prosecuting those who sabotage Nord Stream could serve Germany's justice, but also unintentionally benefit Russia.
Before the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 explosions, Russia had stopped gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline alone has been completed but has never been put into operation.
Recently, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw has no interest in extraditing the suspect detained in this country, because "the issue of Nord Stream 2 is not the destruction, but the construction of it".
Mr. Cenckiewicz affirmed that there is no evidence that Poland has supported the group of Ukrainians in the pipeline attack, but emphasized, "the interests of the Polish state are to protect all those who may have been involved in the damage to Nord Stream 2" because Poland considers this gas pipeline a source of revenue for Russia to provide for the conflict in Ukraine.
