Russia only country with 'capabilities and motivation' to sabotage Nord Stream, says expert

Johannes Peters, the head of the Centre for Maritime Strategy and Security at Kiel University, sees Russia as having both the capabilities and the motivation to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines. Europe is investigating leaks in the two Russian pipelines, with sabotage being suspected by both Western countries and Russia after a sudden drop in pressure was reported overnight on Monday (September 28). “One might be an accident. That could be a solution if there would be only like one leakage. But if we look at the fact that we have three leakages that occurred almost simultaneously, then it's most likely that it's sabotage,“ expert Peters said on Tuesday (September 27) in an interview with Reuters-TV. "When you look at the complexity of the attacks and how difficult it is to carry out such an ... such an act of sabotage, then it's most likely that a state actor is involved.” Peters said one reason for the sabotage could be Russia attempting to spin the damage as an attack by NATO against Russia’s gas infrastructure. Another reason, Peters said, might be Russia sending a message towards Western countries. “Well, one can speculate about it, but one possible aim of Russia might be strategic signalling towards NATO and towards the West to show, look, we are able to manipulate, to sabotage critical infrastructure mounted on the seabed,” said Peters. The Sun newspaper brings you the latest breaking news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world Become a Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesun/ Follow The Sun on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSun Subscribe to The Sun on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/The_Sun/1633225139 #ukraine #russia #putin #nordstream