Poland’s Tusk Weighs In On Controversy Over Nord Stream Sabotage

(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk appeared to wade into the controversy over the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, urging an end to speculation over who is responsible for the attack.

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The attack, which destroyed part of the natural-gas link between Russia and Germany, has drawn fresh scrutiny after German authorities confirmed this month an arrest warrant was issued for a Ukrainian citizen suspected of involvement. It risks an escalation of fresh tensions between Germany and Poland, where the suspect had been residing before he fled.

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had initially approved the operation before ordering a stop upon the Central Intelligence Agency’s request.

Separately, August Hanning, a former head of German foreign intelligence, told the Die Welt newspaper this week that the attack must have been carried out with the support of Poland and with approval from the highest levels in Ukraine and Poland.

Tusk didn’t directly address allegations of Polish involvement, saying only that “initiators and patrons” of Nord Stream should apologize and “keep quiet.”

Poland’s digital minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, rejected Hanning’s accusations, saying in an interview with Polsat broadcaster on Friday that “Poland did not take part in anything.”

The undersea link to Germany via the Baltic Sea was the main route for Russian gas flows before the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The explosions damaged both channels of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as well as one of two for Nord Stream 2 in the waters near the island of Bornholm in eastern Denmark. The blast demonstrated the vulnerability of seabed infrastructure and prompted an increased military presence in the Baltic Sea.

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