Zakharova: Media leaks come from those against probe into blasts

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Mar 2023 23:47

The Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson says the US must take into consideration revelations made by journalist Seymour Hersh and address formal Russian demands.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova attends Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's annual news conference in Moscow, on January 18, 2023. (AP)

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, on Tuesday, that the Nord Stream attack leaks to Western media are constructed to hinder any legal investigation and divert the audience's attention.

This comes following a New York Times report earlier in the day revealing that US officials have seen new intelligence that indicates a "pro-Ukrainian group" was responsible for the sabotage last year of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

On her Telegram channel, Zakharova wrote, "I wonder who allows such leaks, filling the media scene with them? The answer is: those who do not want to conduct an investigation in the legal field and are going to divert the attention of the audience from the facts in every possible way."

Zakharova emphasized that the Western governments engaged in the incident should respond to the formal demands made by Moscow and take into account the findings of the journalistic investigation conducted by Seymour Hersh.

"I've got nothing to say": Hersh

On his part, Hersh declined to comment to Sputnik on the New York Times report.

"Well, I'm just looking at it. Gee, the sources aren't named," the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"I've got nothing to say," he added.

Kiev 'absolutely not involved' in Nord Stream attacks: Zelensky aide

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Reuters that Kiev was "absolutely not involved" in last year's sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, claiming that he has no information about what happened.

White House will not comment on NYT report: Kirby

Commenting on the report, White House National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US will let the European investigations into the sabotage continue and will not get ahead of its results.

"Several of our European partners, in fact three of them - Germany, Sweden, Denmark - have already opened investigations into what happened with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and those investigations are not closed," Kirby said.

He continued, "I’m just not going to get ahead of that investigative work and I’d have to refer you to each of those European countries to comment on their investigations."

Germany takes note of New York Times report

On its part, the German government said it had taken note of the New York Times report.

A couple of days ago, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden informed the United Nations Security Council that investigations into the Nord Steam sabotage are ongoing and that there are still no results, a spokesperson for the German Chancellery indicated.

"The Federal Public Prosecutor has been investigating the matter since the beginning of October 2022. It thus has sovereignty over the procedure," the spokesperson said.