Sputnik reported that on January 14, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a press conference on Russia's diplomatic results in 2024. The event is held annually and is attended by Russian and foreign journalists.
Speaking at a press conference, Foreign Minister Lavrov accused the US of inciting Ukraine to destroy the TurkStream gas pipeline after paralyzing the Nord Stream pipeline in 2022.
"I have a firm belief: the US does not want any competitors in any field, starting with energy, where they do not hesitate to allow the implementation of terrorist acts to destroy the energy security platform of the EU, where they incited Ukraine to destroy TurkStream after paralyzing Nord Stream," Mr. Lavrov said at a press conference.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that on January 11, Ukraine had attempted to attack the gas compression station of the TurkStream pipeline near Anapaapa in the Krasnodar region with 9 drones to stop supplying gas to European countries. All drones were shot down. The gas compressors are still operating normally, with no incidents.
The TurkStream and Blue Stream pipelines, running under the Black Sea to Türkiye, are the last gas pipelines to bring Russian gas to Europe after Ukraine refused to extend the gas transit agreement through its territory earlier this year.
At a press conference on January 13, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a spokeswoman for the European Commission on energy, climate and environment, said: " Any attack on energy infrastructure is worrying." She said the EU is closely monitoring the situation but has not had any specific contact with Ukraine about the matter.
More than two years ago, explosions on two Russian gas pipelines to Europe - Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 - occurred on September 26, 2022. Germany, Denmark and Sweden do not rule out the possibility of this being an act of deliberate sabotage.
The Nord Stream AG operator said the damage to the gas pipelines was unprecedented and the repair time could not be estimated.
The Russian Procuracy initiated a case for international terrorism. Russia has repeatedly requested data on the Nord Stream explosion but has never received it.
