US must say whether it involved in Nord Stream damage or not

Zakharova

TEHRAN, (MNA) – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that US President must answer whether the US was involved in Nord Stream damage or not.

On February 7, 2022, Joe Biden said that Nord Stream would be done for if Russia invades Ukraine, “If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the ... border of Ukraine again, then there will be ... no longer a Nord Stream 2. We, we will bring an end to it. <…> I promise you, we'll be able to do it.”

"US President Joe Biden must answer whether the United States acted on its threat on September 25 and 26, 2022, when an incident occurred on three branches of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, preliminarily qualified as pipeline ruptures, possibly as a result of explosions," according to Zakharova's opinion published on Russian foreign ministry telegram channel.

"The statement of intent was backed with a pledge. One must take responsibility for one’s words. Failing to understand the meaning of what one is saying does not release one from liability. Europe must know the truth," the statement added.

A tweet by ex-Polish Foreign Minister and European Parliament member, Radoslaw Sikorski, in which he thanked the US for damaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines, should not be left unanswered by the EU, Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, TASS reported.

"I’d like to reiterate that if the European Union, European institutions or European bureaucracy fail to react to [Sikorski’s comment made yesterday], we should no longer talk about their hatred for us, we should talk about their hatred for the people who elected them in Europe, those who delegated them with the authority of managing their lives. This must not be left unanswered," she insisted when speaking to Sputnik radio.

According to Zakharova, Sikorski’s remark was no different from extremist activities "given their inclination to blow up power transmission lines in Crimea or to block water resources for Crimean residents." The Russian diplomat said she viewed those as "links in a chain."