NATO Says Sabotage Behind Destruction Of Natural Gas Pipelines

Michael Shellenberger Contributor I write about energy and the environment. Sep 27, 2022,03:47pm EDT

NATO’s Secretary-General said the leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines for sending natural gas from Russia to Europe were the result of sabotage.

“Discussed the sabotage on the NorthStream pipelines with Defence Minister Morten Bødskov,” said Jens Stoltenberg on Twitter. “We addressed the protection of critical infrastructure in NATO countries.”

Nord Stream 1 and 2 lie on the bed of the Baltic Sea and bring gas from Russia to Germany. Nord Stream 2 was finished last year but Germany never opened it because Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. According to German security officials, Nord Stream 1 may be permanently damaged by salt water that could corrode the inside of the pipes.

Some speculated that Russia was behind the attack on its own pipelines. The attack was “probably premeditated and planned for” several weeks before it occurred, an anonymous British military official told The Times of London. “This is not some casual terrorist act, it has to be a government,” said Michael Clarke, a British military expert. “Privately, everyone is convinced this is a Kremlin-inspired piece of sabotage.”

Spokespersons for the governments of Ukraine and Poland agreed that Russia was behind the attack.

But Russia could have restricted natural gas flows like it did earlier this month, using an oil leak as the excuse, without blowing up the pipelines, which cost over $20 billion and are the only direct means Russia has for exporting gas to Germany. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his desire to continue supplying Europe with natural gas.

On September 16, Putin said that if Europe wanted more natural gas it should lift the sanctions on Nord Stream 2. “The bottom line is,” he said, “if you have an urge, if it’s so hard for you, just lift the sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which is 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year, just push the button and everything will get going.”

If the Russians did it, said Clarke, “this is a strategic own goal because although it increases the sense of isolation that there will be no Russian gas for Europe this winter, it actually destroys Russia’s credibility completely with European customers for the next couple of generations.”

And the anonymous British military source upon which the The Times relied expressed uncertainty that it was, in fact, the Russians, and viewed it as a tactical error, if it was. “If it is them [the Russians], I think they’ve pulled out a blinder. Russia has absolutely no influence over the West except for this one gift — gas.”

The Kremlin, for its part, hotly denied the accusation. “It’s quite predictable and also predictably stupid to give voice to these kinds of narratives,” said President Vladamir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. “Both branches were filled with gas, ready for pumping, and this gas is very expensive,” said Peskov. “Now this gas is disappearing into the air.”

Russia has shown a strong interest in protecting its pipelines. Last week, Russian security agencies claimed to have prevented a planned attack by the Ukranian military on the TurkStream pipeline, which sends Russian natural gas to Turkey and southern Europe. Spokespersons for the Ukranian government denied it.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, did not accuse Russia and instead said it was in “no one’s interest” to destroy Nord Stream 1 and 2. “The United States and NATO/EU seem remarkably relaxed about sabotage of a piece of critical infrastructure,” reported an oil and gas reporter for Reuters. “NS 1 and 2 were not delivering gas. But there is an important precedent/principle. Lack of high-profile response from Washington, London and Brussels itself an important story.”

But the loss of Nord Stream 1 and 2 could have indeed been the the benefit of rival gas suppliers. The day before the leak, Poland and Norway opened a new, 850-kilometer natural gas pipeline, Baltic Pipe, through Denmark. Indeed, European leaders praised the pipeline as a much-needed alternative to Nord Stream 1 and 2. Norway’s energy minister called Baltic Pipe “a milestone on the important path towards European independence.”

And concerns were growing among that, after a cold winter without Russian natural gas, European leaders might seek to relax sanctions on Russia and re-start natural gas imports. Last week, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary said he wanted to see an end to European Union sanctions against Russia. Permanently destroying the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines closes off the possibility of Europe returning to Russian natural gas imports.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the CIA warned Germany weeks ago of a coming attack on natural gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, which transport natural gas Russia to Germany. Der Spiegel notes that Russia could have pulled off such the attack on the pipelines, but “It is difficult to see whether Russia or Ukraine could have an interest in such an incident.”

An on-line debate erupted between senior Polish officials over who is responsible for the destruction. A former Polish Defense Minister, Radek Sikorski, attributed to the United States the sabotage. “Thank you, USA,” Sikorski wrote on Twitter. Sikorski was Minister of National Defense from 2005 – 2007 and served as Deputy Minister of National Defense and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, previously. He is currently an elected member of the European parliament.

Poland’s Secretary of State, Stanisław Żaryn, denounced Sikorki’s claim on Twitter as “Russian #propaganda,” calling it “a smear campaign against Poland, the US and Ukraine, accusing the West of aggression against #NS1 and #NS2. Authenticating the Russian lies at this particular moment jeopardizes the security of Poland. What an act of gross irresponsibility!”

President Joe Biden promised on February 7 to prevent Nord Stream 2 from becoming operational if Russia invaded Ukraine. “If Russia invades,” said Biden, “then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.”

Reporter: “But how will you do that, exactly, since…the project is in Germany’s control?”

Biden: “I promise you, we will be able to do that.”

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