Russia has evidence of the involvement of the US and UK in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. And the release of the above evidence will depend on the development of the situation - TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
Ms. Zakharova made this comment when answering a question about the data collected by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
"This evidence is real. Whether we publish it or not - this will also tell you what kind of evidence - will depend on the developments of the situation around the investigation" - Ms. Zakharova said.
"We have repeatedly offered cooperation to all parties. We do this openly and through legal channels between law enforcement agencies. We have contacted them many times. We support these legal demands, both politically and publicly, but we have not received any response," the spokesperson noted.
"Therefore, in my opinion, those who conduct investigations abroad ( Denmark and Sweden have obviously been investigating for a long time), but Germany must be interested in exchanging documents, getting information and providing us with the corresponding information. We are not only ready for this, but have emphasized this," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized.
Ms. Zakharova pointed out, "we are ready to present everything we have in the investigation under the sponsorship of the United Nations - according to our initiative. But the West has also blocked this. Therefore, we conduct our own investigation and, of course, we have the information that Russian officials are talking about, especially the information that SVR Director Sergey Naryshkin mentioned." Ms. Zakharova affirmed that Russia holds solid and undeniable evidence.
Regarding the way to manage the evidence, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "We will release evidence depending on the situation. The West has deprived itself of the ability to get information from us at will."
Previously, SVR Director Sergey Naryshkin stated that the US and UK were directly involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. He accused professional saboteurs from Anglo-Saxon intelligence agencies of being involved in the organization, preparation and implementation of the Nord Stream explosion.
"The US administration believes that carrying out such sabotage acts is reasonable to divide Europe and above all to divide Germany from Russia," the intelligence director said, referring to Washington's "uncertainty" about whether it can persuade Berlin and other European Union (EU) countries to abandon their "extremely profitable" economic ties with Moscow.
"The United States and the United Kingdom will be responsible for this. As the old saying goes, he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind" - Mr. Naryshkin concluded.
The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were built under the Baltic Sea to transport Russian gas directly to Germany. The pipelines were disabled by powerful underwater explosions in September 2022.
