Polish EU Parliament member on Nord Stream explosion: "Thank you, USA"
5 Min Read
Former Polish minister and member of the European Parliament Radoslaw Sikorski thanked the US for the Nord Stream 2 explosions, kicking off a public diplomatic quarrel.
-
Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic Sea (Reuters)
Former Polish minister and member of the European Parliament Radoslaw Sikorski had no reservations about who could have been responsible for Monday's Nord Stream pipeline explosion that shut off Germany from Russian gas.
On Tuesday, Sikorski tweeted "Thank you USA," along with a picture of the massive gas spill in the Baltic Sea. Off the shore of the Danish island of Bornholm, both pipelines sustained significant damage in what is now largely seen as a premeditated attack.
Thank you, USA. pic.twitter.com/nALlYQ1Crb
— Radek Sikorski MEP (@radeksikorski) September 27, 2022
Later, Sikorski tweeted in Polish that if Russia wants to continue supplying gas to Europe, it must "talk to the countries controlling the Brotherhood and Yamal gas pipelines, Ukraine and Poland."
Uszkodzenie Nordstream zawęża pole manewru Putina. Jeśli będzie chciał wznowić dostawy gazu do Europy będzie musiał rozmawiać z krajami kontrolującymi gazociągi Brotherhood i Jamał.
— Radosław Sikorski MEP 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) September 27, 2022
In addition to Sikoski’s comments, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, according to Prowy news agency, called the Nord Stream incident "an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine."
In response, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova questioned if Sikorsky's tweet constituted an “official statement that this was a terrorist attack.”
💬 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova: ex Polish FM, now European MP @radeksikorski has thanked the US for today's incident at the Russian gas pipeline (Nord Stream 2).
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) September 27, 2022
Is it an official statement on this being a terrorist attack? https://t.co/QnGc10kNCq
Furthermore, Sikorski was thanked for "making it crystal clear who stands behind this terrorist-style targeting of civilian infrastructure," according to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Moscow's deputy ambassador to the UN.
Thank you, @radeksikorski for making it crystal clear who stands behind this terrorist-style targeting of civilian infrastructure! #NordStream2 #Nordstream https://t.co/ir6LV7qWVE
— Dmitry Polyanskiy (@Dpol_un) September 27, 2022
Sikorski is not just any MEP; he was formerly a citizen of the UK, a fellow at multiple US and NATO think tanks, and Poland's former defense (2005-2007), and foreign minister (2007-2014).
It is also worth noting that the MEP is wed to American commentator Anne Applebaum, a staunch critic of Russia.
He was forced to retract a statement he had made, in October 2014, after it was revealed that he had made up the claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to divide Ukraine with Warsaw.
In January 2022, Sikorski referred to Russia as a "serial rapist," and in June, he told Ukraine's Espreso TV that NATO had the right to provide Kiev with nuclear weapons.
Additionally, Kiev blamed Russia at the same time Sikorski thanked the US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser, Mikhail Podoliak, claimed that the incident was “a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU,” arguing the best course of action to respond to this attack would be to provide the Ukrainian army with German tanks.
"Gas leak" from NS-1 is nothing more that a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU. 🇷🇺 wants to destabilize economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic. The best response and security investment — tanks for 🇺🇦. Especially German ones…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) September 27, 2022
In February of 2022, and prior to the Russian special operation in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden threatened to terminate the existence of the civilian infrastructure of Nord Stream 2 when he said that "If Russia invades...then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."
When pointed out to him that Nord Stream 2 is not only civilian but also under German sovereignty, Biden made it clear that the US considered that collateral information and damage as he replied saying "I promise you, we will be able to do that."
Biden in Feb 2022: "If Russia invades...then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it."
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) September 27, 2022
Q: "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."pic.twitter.com/e091ddF4Pv https://t.co/DHaCuETo8y
People across Eurasia have a lot to say in response to the diplomatic war. One example is that of the Coordinator of the International Secretariat of Progressive International who is based in Berlin. Pawel Wargan responded to Sikorski's "Thank you, USA" tweet by pointing out that the Polish official is praising a US attack on German territory.
Poland’s former Foreign Minister, a sitting member of the European Parliament, is praising what he suggests is a US attack on part-German-owned civilian infrastructure, which could condemn millions to poverty in a frigid winter. I am speechless. https://t.co/QqtdPDIdJc
— Paweł Wargan (@pawelwargan) September 27, 2022
Underwater explosions reported
The Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN) reported powerful underwater explosions in the area of gas leaks from the Nord Stream pipeline on Tuesday.
SNSN Director Bjorn Lund said as quoted by SVT that "there are no doubts that these were explosions."
“One explosion had a magnitude of 2.3 and was registered by dozens of monitoring stations in southern Sweden,” he stated.
“You can clearly see the waves bounce from the bottom to the surface," Lund added.
On his part, Peter Schmidt, an Uppsala University seismologist, said the Swedish National Seismic Network recorded two "massive releases of energy" shortly prior to, and near the location of, the gas leaks off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm.
"The first happened at 2:03 am (0003 GMT) just southeast of Bornholm with a magnitude of 1.9. Then we also saw one at 7:04 pm on Monday night, another event a little further north and that seems to have been a bit bigger. Our calculations show a magnitude of 2.3," Schmidt said.
The Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR) also confirmed it had registered "a smaller explosion" in the early hours of Monday, "followed by a more powerful one on Monday evening."
Photos taken by the Danish military on Tuesday showed large masses of bubbles on the surface of the water emanating from the three leaks located in Sweden's and Denmark's economic zones, spreading from 200 to 1,000 meters (656 feet to 0.62 miles) in diameter.
Earlier on Monday, Denmark's maritime traffic agency and Sweden's Maritime Authority reported a "dangerous" gas leak in the Baltic Sea close to the route of the inactive Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which experienced an unexplained drop in pressure.
The leak, southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm, "is dangerous for maritime traffic" and "navigation is prohibited within a five nautical mile radius of the reported position," the agency warned in a notice to ships.
Read more: Kremlin hints at sabotage as possible cause of Nord Stream damage
