EU leaders are set to discuss next week what Bloc accused of sabotaging the submarine Nordstream gas pipeline, an EU official said Thursday, adding that the incident fundamentally undermines the nature of the conflict in Ukraine. Added that it has changed.
Who is behind the deliberate attack on pipelines built by Russian and European partners at a cost of billions of dollars as gas continued to spew into the Baltic Sea four days after the leak was first detected? remained unknown.
Russia said the incident looked like an “act of terrorism”. It also said the leaks off Denmark and Sweden occurred in areas “under full control” of US intelligence agencies.
“An attack on strategic infrastructure means we have to protect strategic infrastructure across the EU,” said an EU official in Brussels.
“As we have seen, mobilization … and as with the possibility of annexation, this fundamentally changes the nature of the conflict,” said the official, urging Russia to mobilize more troops for the Ukraine war. and expressed hopes for President Vladimir Putin. Annex the regions of Ukraine.
Russia’s war with Ukraine and the ensuing energy conflict between Russia and Europe, with the EU desperate to find alternative gas supplies, dominates the EU summit in Prague on October 7. will do.
The European Union on Wednesday warned of a “strong and united response” in the event of further attacks, stressing the need to protect its energy infrastructure, but EU officials perpetrated sabotage. He avoided pointing out the possibility of a person using direct numbers.
The Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines were not delivering gas to Europe when the leak was first detected on Monday, but they still had gas. Russia had suspended deliveries through Nord Stream 1, citing Western sanctions hampering operations. Nord stream 2 had not started commercial operation.
Next week, EU leaders will announce eighth measures against Russia, including tightening trade restrictions, adding them to blacklists and capping oil prices in third countries, proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. sanctions package will be discussed.
EU officials expect the bloc of 27 countries to agree to part of the sanctions package ahead of the Prague summit, including the blacklisting of additional individuals and part of trade restrictions on steel and technology. He said that
Other topics, such as oil price caps and sanctions on banks, may not be resolved by the summit, he added.
EU countries need unanimity to impose sanctions, and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been a vocal critic of economic restrictions, and for Hungary, an oil price cap has been imposed. may be too high.
