JAKARTA - Moscow did not rule out any possibility of demanding compensation for the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline due to two explosions last September, but the future of the pipeline remains unclear, according to a Russian diplomat quoted by RIA Novosti news agency.
The pipes, which connect Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were damaged by unexplained explosions, with Moscow calling them acts of international terrorism.
"We do not rule out raising the issue of compensation for the damage caused by the explosion," said Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's economic cooperation department, in an interview with RIA.
However, he did not tell whom Russia would seek compensation.
It is known that the two pipelines have a combined capacity of 110 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, greater than 101 bcm exported by Russia outside the former Soviet Union in 2022.
Birichevsky further said that the future of this pipeline network is still unclear.
"Currently, it is very difficult to talk about the future of the Nord Stream pipeline system. Overall, according to experts, the damaged path can be restored," he said.
Birichevsky added that Western countries oppose Russia's draft UN Security Council resolution which calls for an independent international investigation.
"Nevertheless, we intend to continue to urge a comprehensive and open international investigation with mandatory participation from Russian representatives," he said.
Separately, the Kremlin said all shareholders should decide whether the two pipelines each consisting of the two pipes should be closed or reactivated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia would determine who was behind the explosions, before claiming any compensation.
"For now, data shows that large-scale acts of sabotage and terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure are unlikely to be carried out without the participation of state and state-owned services," he explained.
"You see that Western countries are taking all possible steps to cover up this issue... However, Russia will do everything it can to prevent this from happening," he said.
Sources familiar with the plan told Reuters last week that a pipeline network built by Gazprom and controlled by the Russian government would be sealed and closed because there were no plans to repair or reactivate it.
Nord Stream 1 opened in November 2011, at a cost of 7.4 billion euros (8 billion US dollars). Meanwhile, the construction of the $11 billion Nord Stream was completed in September 2021, but never operated, before Germany froze the project because Russia would send troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
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