“The preliminary investigation has been systematic and thorough. Many ship movements have been analyzed to understand what happened. In addition, there was an extensive examination of the crime scene and many interrogations. In view of the overall image we have, we can see that there is no Swedish jurisdiction“said prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist in a statement.
Likewise, Ljungqvist pointed out that the main purpose of the investigation into the incidents in the Nord Stream gas pipelines was to determine whether Swedish citizens participated in the action and whether Swedish territory was used to carry out said action, putting the security of Sweden at risk; however, this was not confirmed.
” Nothing has appeared to indicate that Sweden or Swedish citizens were involved in the attack that occurred in international waters ,” highlighted the Prosecutor’s Office.
It is important to note that Ljungqvist highlighted the effective collaboration with the Danish and, especially, German authorities , to whom they provided evidence that could be used in the investigation in Germany.
“The German investigation continues and, due to the secrecy governing international judicial collaboration, I cannot comment further on it. For the same reason, I will not be able to give more details about the conclusions of the Swedish investigation or about possible suspects in it.“said Ljungqvist.
Who committed the sabotage of Nord Stream?
The Swedish Prosecutor’s Office had previously confirmed that this was an act of “serious sabotage”, presumably carried out by a state actor. In total, two leaks were identified in each of the gas pipelines , two in the Danish zone and two in the Swedish zone, all in international waters. The affected governments soon described these events as “sabotage” and pointed the finger at a state actor. The three main leaks were closed in early October of the same year, by achieving stable pressure in the pipes, although the smaller leak remained active for a few more days.
It should be noted that both gas pipelines were not operational when the incidents occurred. The first stopped supplying gas due to technical problems, according to Moscow, while the second was never commissioned, as the German government blocked it after Moscow recognized the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donbas in February 2022.
The affected countries, as well as the rest of the European Union (EU), the United States and Russia, agree in characterizing the incidents as acts of sabotage, although there are differences regarding the possible authorship. Moscow has blamed “Anglo-Saxon” countries, referring to the opposition sustained by Washington for years.
On the other hand, some Western countries have pointed in an opposite direction. An investigation led by American journalist Seymour Hersh suggested the involvement of US intelligence, with the collaboration of Norway and other Western countries. Subsequently, media from the United States and Germany indicated a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the sabotage.
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