Russia says NATO should hold emergency summit over Nord Stream explosions

Russia has called on the US-led NATO to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the recent findings about the September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

"There are more than enough facts here: the explosion of the pipelines, the presence of a motive, circumstantial evidence obtained by journalists," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"So when will an emergency NATO summit meet to review the situation?" she asked.

Seymour Hersh, an American investigative journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1970, said in a blog post on Wednesday that US navy divers under the guise of the Baltops exercise destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines at the behest of US President Joe Biden.

The White House rejected the claims and described them as "utterly false and complete fiction".

The explosion occurred in the exclusive economic zone of Sweden and Denmark and on September 26. Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipelines routes.

Both, Sweden and Denmark concluded that the strategic pipelines, which send Russian gas to Germany, was blown up on purpose, but did not say who was responsible.

Russia said the countries "have something to hide" and are purposefully blocking Russia out from the investigation.

The United States and NATO described the incident as an "act of sabotage". Moscow blamed the West for the inexplicable explosion.

The explosion caused a crack in the gas pipe. Neither side has yet presented evidence.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.

MG