After Nord Stream remarks, Moscow says Pavel 'sounds like a terrorist'
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The "terrorism-sounding" accusation comes after the president of the Czech Republic described the Nord Stream pipelines as a "legitimate target" for Ukraine.
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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends a meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla in Moscow, Russia, on June 12, 2024. (AP)
Czech President Petr Pavel drew controversy with his assertion that the Nord Stream gas pipelines were a "legitimate target" for Ukraine, a statement that some critics likened to rhetoric from an international terrorist, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
Responding to Pavel’s remarks, Zakharova wrote in a Telegram post on Wednesday that they were “too much, even for such an eccentric fringe [figure]," adding that "previously, such ‘ideas’ were only voiced by representatives of banned international terrorist cells."
As an example, Zakharova cited calls from senior ISIS and al-Qaeda figures urging their supporters to target the US, which, according to the Russian diplomat, are similar to the Czech President's remarks.
Nord Stream 'legitimate target' for Ukraine: Pavel
Petr Pavel, the president of the Czech Republic, stated earlier today that the Nord Stream pipelines were a "legitimate target" for Ukraine during its war with Russia. He made clear, nevertheless, that he lacked evidence to support his claim that Kiev was indeed responsible for the attack on the energy infrastructure.
Speaking to media outlet Novinky.cz, Pavel was asked to respond to a Wall Street Journal article last week that implied Kiev was responsible for the September 2022 explosions that destroyed the pipelines used to transport Russian gas to Germany and the rest of Western Europe.
The Wall Street Journal's sources claimed that although Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky had originally given his approval for the strike, he later attempted to cancel it due to pressure from the CIA. However, the operation was carried out nonetheless by Valery Zaluzhny, the country's military commander at the time.
The Czech President began by saying that he possesses no "clear incriminating" material connecting Kiev to the Nord Stream attack, stating, however, that “when an armed conflict is waged, it is waged not only against military targets, but also against strategic targets. And pipelines are a strategic target.”
