Pipeline repairs possible: Russia official

MOSCOW - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Sunday that it was technically possible to restore the ruptured offshore infrastructure of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the TASS news agency reported.

A total of four leaks were discovered last week on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea near Denmark and Sweden, with a significant fall in gas pressure leading to the detection of the ruptures.

"There have never been such incidents. Of course, there are technical possibilities to restore the infrastructure. It takes time and appropriate funds. I am sure that appropriate possibilities will be found," Novak said.

Over the past few days, accusations have been traded over the explosions. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the United States and its allies were responsible. European Union states say they believe the damage was caused by sabotage.

Novak said, according to TASS,that the US, Ukraine and Poland had opposed the Nord Stream pipelines. He added that those who voiced their opposition had an interest in stopping the pipelines from operating.

A former adviser to the Pentagon chief suggested that the US and the United Kingdom might be behind the Nord Stream incidents, according to a TASS report on Sunday.

Douglas Macgregor, who advised the US defense secretary during the presidency of Donald Trump,said in a conversation with Andrew Napolitano, the presenter of the Judging Freedom podcast: "You have to look at who are the state actors that have the capability to do this. And that means the (UK's)Royal Navy and the United States' Navy … I think that's pretty clear."

Macgregor also noted the comments by Poland's former foreign minister, European Parliament member Radoslaw Sikorski, who thanked the US for damaging the pipelines in a post on his Twitter account.

Parliamentary backing

On Monday, the lower house of Russia's parliament approved laws on incorporating four regions into Russia: Kherson, Donetsk,Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia.

"The decision was taken unanimously. There are 89 entities in the Russian Federation," Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin posted on Telegram, along with a map of Russia including the four regions.

Speaking shortly after the votes,Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov congratulated representatives from the four regions and said he was confident the upper house of parliament would also approve the measures.

On Sunday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, in Istanbul to discuss "progress on NATO accession for Finland and Sweden",the White House said in a statement.

Sullivan also met with Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, in Istanbul on Sunday.

EU country leaders were expected to discuss how to step up support for Ukraine and their next steps to tame soaring energy prices when they meet on Friday.

In a meeting invitation letter to EU leaders published on Sunday,European Council President Charles Michel called for a firm EU response to recent developments.

Agencies via Xinhua