US offers Finland help investigating damage to gas pipeline
Oct 13, 2023
Washington [US], October 13: Washington has offered Finland help to investigate the damage on a gas pipeline that runs between Estonia and Finland, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.
A sudden pressure drop was recorded in the Balticconnector gas pipeline on Sunday. Damage to the pipeline was then detected and subsequently taken out of service. The repair will take at least five months.
After hearing reports of attacks on underwater infrastructure, Austin said he contacted his Finnish counterpart.
The investigation was being conducted there, so he did not want to speculate on who might have been involved, Austin added, in comments following a NATO meeting.He was asked whether there were any indications that Russia might be behind the leak.
"Because they are investigating this, I won't speculate on who may have been involved," he said.The US is prepared to do everything it could to assist Finland in its investigations, he continued.
The pipeline runs for some 150km between Inkoo in Finland and Paldiski in Estonia through the Gulf of Finland.
Source: Qatar Tribune
