Danes: Nord Stream 2 pipeline seems to have stopped leaking

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The Danish Energy Agency says one of two ruptured natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea appears to have stopped leaking natural gas.

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The agency said on Twitter on Saturday that the company operating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had informed it that pressure appears to have stabilized in the pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany.

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“This indicates that gas leaks in this pipeline have stopped,” the Danish Energy Agency said.

The underwater explosions that damaged the Nord Stream I and 2 pipelines this week have caused massive methane leaks. Nordic investigators said the explosions involved several hundred pounds of explosives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of sabotaging Russian-built oil pipelines, a charge vehemently denied by the United States and its allies.

Clashes between the US and Russia continued later at an emergency UN Security Council meeting in New York called by Russia over the pipeline attacks and as Norwegian researchers released a map projecting that a huge plume of methane from damaged pipelines will travel through large swaths of pipelines. the Nordic region.

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Speaking in Moscow on Friday, Putin claimed that the “Anglo-Saxons” in the West have gone from imposing sanctions on Russia to “terrorist attacks”, sabotaging oil pipelines in what he described as an attempt to “destroy Europe’s energy infrastructure”.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden dismissed Putin’s claims as outlandish.

“It was a deliberate act of sabotage. And now the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies. We will work with our allies to get to the bottom of exactly what happened,” Biden vowed. “Don’t listen to what Putin says. We know what he says is not true.”

US officials said Putin’s claim was an attempt to divert attention from his annexation of parts of Ukraine on Friday.

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“We will not let Russia’s disinformation distract us and the world from its transparently fraudulent attempt to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Friday.

European nations, which have suffered from rising energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have noted that it is Russia, not Europe, that is benefiting from chaos in energy markets and increased of energy prices.

The United States has long opposed the two pipelines and has repeatedly urged Germany to stop them, saying they increased Europe’s energy dependence on Russia and diminished its security. Since the war in Ukraine began in February, Russia has cut the supply of natural gas sent to Europe to heat homes, generate electricity and run factories. European leaders have accused Putin of using “energy blackmail” to divide them over their staunch support for Ukraine.

Attacks on gas pipelines have prompted energy companies and European governments to strengthen security around energy infrastructure.

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