The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety cannot assess the damage caused to the environment by the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion, Bettina Hoffmann, a senior representative of the ministry, told lawmakers in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag).
“As you know, the damaged Nord Stream pipelines are located in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden,” Hoffmann said, noting that these countries are officially responsible for assessing the damage.
"We are not aware of any damage to the marine environment outside the damaged areas. As far as the German government has been informed, the negative impact of the explosion is localized and insignificant for the Baltic Sea as a whole," Hoffman said.
When a lawmaker asked whether the damage was actually negligible, Ms Hoffmann corrected herself, pointing out: "We don't have information about the damage because we haven't surveyed the site. Of course we have exchanged information about the damage, but we don't have continuous exchanges with these two countries about the environmental consequences."
Ms Hoffman acknowledged that a lot of methane was released into the water, but said it did not cause long-term damage to the environment.
In another development, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on October 11 that the German Ministry of Home Affairs has permanently stationed a tactical police unit at the Baltic Sea port of Neustadt to ensure a quick response to any potential attack on "critical infrastructure."
The move is believed to be due to the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion in September 2022, which showed a "clear" risk of "sabotage" - Der Spiegel quoted security sources as saying.
On September 26, 2022, unprecedented damage occurred to three branches of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has no doubt that the explosion of the Russian gas pipeline to the EU was carried out with the support of the United States and Britain. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has opened a criminal case on charges of international terrorism.
TASS quoted Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying that Russia has evidence of US and UK involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage. And the publication of the evidence will depend on the development of the situation.
