Mats Ljungqvist has instructed Swedish media that he hopes the culprits behind the assault can be discovered and indicted
Sweden hopes to conclude its investigation into the Nord Stream fuel pipeline sabotage by autumn of this yr, prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist instructed Swedish radio on Wednesday. The underwater conduits had been destroyed in a collection of explosions in September of 2022.
Chatting with public service broadcaster SR, Ljungqvist acknowledged that his crew had met with the German prosecutor investigating the case and that the 2 nations had been working collectively. He didn’t, nonetheless, present any additional particulars into the investigation, except for setting an anticipated timeline.
“I hope that we at the very least this autumn will be capable to decide concerning indictments, at the very least that’s the ambition as issues stand now,” Ljungqvist mentioned. “I feel, really, in time, [who did] will probably be delivered to mild,” he added.
Again in April, Ljungqvist launched an announcement during which he mentioned that there was “little question” that the assault on Nord Stream constituted “gross sabotage in worldwide waters,” including that the first focus of the investigation was to find out if Swedish pursuits or nationwide safety had been threatened.
In an announcement to Reuters that very same month, the prosecutor defined that the “absolute foremost situation” being investigated by his crew was {that a} state actor had been “instantly or at the very least not directly” answerable for the assault.
In his interview with SR, Ljungqvist acknowledged this speculation “has been strengthened in the course of the course of the investigation.”
No nation has but claimed duty for the assault on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pure fuel pipelines that linked Russia and Germany throughout the Baltic Sea. Sweden, Germany, and Denmark have carried out probes into the assault since final fall. Nevertheless, all three have been reluctant to open up about their findings, and have rejected provides from Russia to help with the probe.
In the meantime, American journalist Seymour Hersh has accused the US of ordering and finishing up the sabotage with the assistance of the Norwegian Navy beneath the duvet of the BALTOPS army drills. His claims have been supported by Moscow, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioning that the US specifically had a motive for the assault as a result of its place as a competing fuel provider to Europe.
Washington and its allies have denied the allegations and have tried responsible Moscow for destroying its personal infrastructure and have additionally speculated that “pro-Ukrainian teams” working out of Poland might need carried out the operation, with or with out Kiev’s official blessing.
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