After months of investigation, many Western officials are "
saying privately
" that Russia may not be behind the Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline explosions, The
Washington Post
reported on Wednesday .
“'
There is no evidence at this stage that Russia was behind the sabotage', an
anonymous European official said, reports the American daily, who claims that the “
condemnation from Moscow was rapid and widespread
”.
No “conclusive” evidence
To date, the investigation carried out by experts with knowledge
of “
medico-legal details
” has failed to “
conclusively link Russia to the attack
”, recalls the newspaper which underlines, then, the US eavesdropping “
of communications from Russian officials and military forces
,” which failed to prove Russian responsibility for the incident.
“
Analysts have not heard or read any statements from the Russian side taking credit or suggesting they were trying to cover up their involvement
,” details the
Washington Post
.
Read alsoAfter the Nord Stream sabotage, should France be worried about its submarine cables?
Investigators combed through the debris and analyzed the explosive residue recovered from the bed of the Baltic Sea.
Given the relatively shallow depth of the damaged pipes, "
different actors could have succeeded in the attack
", continues the newspaper.
"
Submersible drones
" or "
surface ships
" may have caused the incident.
Asked by the
Washington Post
, a “
German government official, who is conducting his own investigation, said explosives appeared to have been placed outside the structures
.”
For seismologists, three explosions sounded on September 26, causing four leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipes. This accident resulted in one of the largest releases of methane.
Russia still suspected
However, "
Russia remains a major suspect
" given its recent actions of bombing civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
By attacking Nord Stream, the Kremlin could have sought to destabilize “
the determination of NATO
” and to weaken the “
allies who depend on Russian energy sources
”.
But for some "
skeptics
", "
Moscow had little to gain from damaging the gas pipelines
" because they generated "
billions of dollars in annual revenue
".
Throughout Vladimir Putin's tenure, energy was used as an “
instrument of political and economic leverage
”.
The Kremlin delights in waving the threat of cuts to intimidate countries “into
respecting its goals
”.
Read alsoGas, cereals: Moscow is testing European cohesion
Thus, many "
officials regretted that so many world leaders singled out Moscow without considering other countries, as well as extremist groups, that may have the ability and motive to carry out the attack
."
Quick accusations against Russia
As early as September 30, four days after the explosions, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told the BBC that it "
appeared
" Russia was to blame.
"
It is highly unlikely that these incidents are a coincidence
," she added.
For his part, the German Minister of Economy, Robert Habeck, had also hinted that Russia was responsible for the explosions.
“
Russia saying 'It wasn't us' is like saying 'I'm not the thief'
,” Habeck told reporters in early October.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: does Russia really have no interest in sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines?
Finally, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky was quick to qualify the explosions “
a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression against [the European Union]
”.
Attack attribution difficult
Since the incident, attribution of the explosions has been difficult.
On November 11, the Kremlin accused the UK of being behind the sabotage.
“
Our intelligence services have evidence suggesting that the attack was directed and coordinated by British military specialists
,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
In response, the British Defense had denounced "
false assertions
".
Read alsoWho sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea?
The prospect that the explosions will never be definitively attributed is a problem for countries like Norway, which has 9,000 kilometers of undersea gas pipelines to Europe.
A Norwegian official said his country was trying to tighten security around its own pipes and wider critical infrastructure.
The Nordic country is also working with the United Kingdom, France and Germany to "
intensify naval patrols
" and try to "
maintain the flow of oil and gas in the event of a new attack
".
Norway is also investigating "
the appearance of unidentified aerial drones
" around its oil and gas facilities during the Nord Stream attacks.
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