STOCKHOLM, February 26. /TASS/. Denmark’s decision to end its investigation into the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines came as no surprise, as did the announcement that the probe was inconclusive, the Russian Ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin said.
"The decision to end the investigation was expected, as was the announcement that it was inconclusive," the diplomat noted.
"From the very start, Denmark did not show any interest in identifying the contractors, masterminds and perpetrators of the sabotage on the gas pipelines of the Nord Stream system or bringing them to justice. Statements from the Danish party claiming that the investigation was comprehensive are unsubstantiated and not supported by facts. The conclusions and results of the Danish investigation cannot be trusted," the diplomat said.
The ambassador recalled that the Danish authorities "not only refused to cooperate with Russia on this criminal matter, but also opposed an independent international investigation being launched under the auspices of the UN."
Barbin recalled that "Denmark did not protect its own Danish companies from the sanctions imposed by the United States on Nord Stream 2 in December 2019." Denmark did not react in any way to the promise of US President Joe Biden to end this project, which was made after the negotiations in February 2022 with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Danish national investigation could not be objective and impartial, given the initial negative attitude of the official authorities towards the Nord Stream 2 project, as well as their desire to ensure that in the field of security between Denmark and the United States there were no barriers, according to the comment.
The Danish prosecutor's office explained its reluctance to interact with the Russian side by saying that fulfilling Russia's requests for legal assistance could jeopardize national security.
"Does this position of the Danish prosecutor’s office show that Copenhagen was afraid that something might come out that would create risks for Denmark’s security cooperation with the United States or Denmark’s supply of arms to Ukraine?" asked the ambassador.
"The readiness to close the investigation runs counter to loud calls from Denmark on the need to ensure the security of critical infrastructure," he added.
On Monday, Denmark announced it was ending its investigation into the Nord Stream explosions. As the Danish police stated, the investigation "led the authorities to conclude that the gas pipelines were deliberately sabotaged," but "the assessment is that there are not sufficient grounds to open a criminal case in Denmark."
In December 2023, the Danish side refused Russia’s request to provide legal assistance in the investigation of the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream. Commenting on this decision, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that this did not come as a shock, merely confirming that Denmark wants to conceal the truth about who really carried out the terrorist attacks.