MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of organising blasts that resulted in multiple gas leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe.
“Sanctions are not enough for the West, they have switched to sabotage. Unbelievable, but it is a fact!” Putin said during a televised speech at a Kremlin ceremony to annex four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine.
“By organising explosions on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines that run along the bottom of the Baltic Sea they actually started destroying European energy infrastructure,” Putin said.
“It is clear to everyone who benefits from this,” Putin added, without providing further details.
Unexplained gas leaks, preceded by two explosions, occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Monday.
Moscow and Washington both denied involvement in the incident. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have been shrouded in political tensions since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February.
Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions, but the pipelines still contained gas though they were not operational.
‘Not striving’ for return of Soviet Union
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia was “not striving” to recreate the Soviet Union as he prepared to annex four Moscow-occupied Ukrainian regions at a Kremlin ceremony.
“The USSR is no more. We can’t bring the past back. And Russia doesn’t need it anymore. We are not striving towards that,” Putin said.
He also accused the last leaders of the Soviet Union of “destroying our great country”. Putin was speaking at a televised ceremony to formalise the annexation of four Russian-held regions in Ukraine, where pro-Moscow authorities conducted hastily organised referendums, denounced by Kyiv and the West as a sham.
In his speech, Putin also claimed the West wanted to see Russia as a “colony”.
“It is out of greed, with the aim of maintaining its unlimited power. These are the real reasons for this hybrid war that the West is waging against us… They want to make us into a colony,” Putin said in televised remarks.
“They don’t need Russia at all,” he said. “The West is ready to step over everything to preserve the neo-colonial system, which allows it to parasitise, and, in fact, plunder the whole world,” Putin added.
He claimed it was “critical for them that all countries surrender their sovereignty to the United States”.
