UPDATE - German Defense Minister Says Took Notice Of Journalistic Investigations On Nord Stream

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th March, 2023) German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday that he had taken into account media reports of a possible Ukrainian footprint in the Nord Stream explosions but did not intend to comment on hypothetical assumptions.

"It is always interesting to read such inquiries, and I took notice of them with great attention. But we have to hold off hypothetical comments like 'what might happen if,'" Pistorius told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

The defense minister also said that he would not comment on the assumptions made based on journalistic investigations and stressed that it was important that the NATO countries were "doing their best" to protect their critical underwater infrastructure.

Pistorius proposed to wait and see whether the reports suggesting that the pro-Ukrainian groups did the sabotage at the Nord Stream pipelines "can be proved."

"I would hesitate to give a clear analysis to that recherche of those journalists, I would rather wait on whether it can proved or not. What is more important even at the moment is that together with NATO and countries around the Baltic Sea and the Northern Sea we come together and do everything to protect our critical infrastructure in the sea," Pistorius said ahead of the informal meeting of EU Defense Ministers in Stockholm.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported, citing US officials, that a "pro-Ukrainian group" had carried out last year's attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines. A few hours later, German newspaper Zeit reported that the investigators had identified the vessel used to carry out the attack on the pipelines.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, have been dysfunctional since they were hit by explosions last September. Nord Stream's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take.

Russia considers the explosions of the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. There are no official results of the investigation yet, but US journalist and Pulitzer prize winner Seymour Hersh alleged that the explosions were organized by the United States with the support of Norway. Following Hersh's report, Moscow has reiterated its calls for an impartial and thorough investigation. The US denies its involvement in the incident.