US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who earlier published a report about US role in blasts that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines last year, does not rule out the possibility of visiting Russia and addressing the lower chamber of the Russian parliament.
"That's not off the table but it's not going to happen in the short run," Hersh told TASS, commenting on Russian media reports about his possible invitation to the State Duma.
He added that relations between the two countries remain strained and, therefore, not conductive to foreign trips in such a "delicate time."
However, the journalist said he had turned down several invitations to speak before the US Congress in the past few years, because he prefers to stay out of politics.
In his words, he received several calls from the US Congress after publishing his article about the Nord Stream.
"I've already had senators call me up and I say to them, I can't help you it’s your problem, not mine," Hersh said.
According to the article published on Wednesday, explosives were planted under the Russian Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines by US Navy divers under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 exercise last June. The story cited an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the operational planning as saying that US President Joe Biden personally authorized the operation. Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House told TASS, replying to the news agency’s question, that the Hersh story was totally false and complete fiction.
On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. On September 26, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.
US Department of State denies any role in Nord Stream blasts
The United States is denying any involvement in the blasts that damaged Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said.
When asked by a reporter whether he viewed the US government’s denial of involvement in the affair as credible, Price replied: "I absolutely do, and I repeat it here."
Answering to a question on whether the US Department of State contacted with ambassadors from Germany, Norway and other allies and partners after the article was published, he said: "It would not be typical for us to engage allies and partners on something that is utter and complete nonsense and that should be rejected out of hand by anyone who is looking at it through an objective lens."
According to the article published on Wednesday, explosives were planted under the Russian Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines by US Navy divers under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 exercise last June. The story cited an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the operational planning as saying that US President Joe Biden personally authorized the operation. Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House told TASS, replying to the news agency’s question, that the Hersh story was totally false and complete fiction.
On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. On September 26, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.
EU seeks to 'literally submerge' investigation of Nord Stream sabotage — diplomat
The EU seeks to 'literally submerge’ the investigation of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said during a Valdai Club discussion on the militarization of the Baltics.
The diplomat was asked whether the dialogue between Russia and EU countries on ecology continues.
"If we talk about how much EU countries are concerned [over ecology issues], then the situation with the Nord Stream comes to mind - [the pipeline] that was detonated, as you know, under completely silent enabling and weakness of European countries. The investigation proceeds in a way that is aimed to have the tracks submerged, both literally and figuratively," he said.
Previously, German Public Prosecutor General Peter Frank said that German investigators currently have no evidence that Russia is behind the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz noted that German will not speculate over this issue while it has no proof.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the German Chancellor has to make excuses for Berlin’s unwillingness to publish the investigation data, thus "creating an impression that Germany has something to hide." The diplomat called Berlin’s position ambiguous, noting that its real actions cause doubts regarding its interest in finding the instigators and the executors of the attacks on the pipelines.
US Surveillance Aircraft Monitored Results of Explosions at Nord Stream Pipelines in September
A US P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft monitored the aftermath of the explosion at the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in the early hours of September 26, according to Flightradar24.
The Flightradar24 flight archive has no data on the Norwegian aircraft that may have dropped the buoy, as it apparently flew with the turned-off transponder. However, according to the resource, a US P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft arrived in the area of the incident exactly one hour after the explosion.
According to the source, the US plane flew from the Atlantic to Bornholm Island after passing over Denmark. Then, the aircraft refueled over Poland from the KS-135R refueling plane.
After the refueling, the US aircraft returned to Bornholm and, at about 04:45 Summer European Time (02:45 GMT), made a full circle exactly over the explosion area and started to descend. Turning to the right and moving away from the scene, the plane gradually descended from an altitude of 7,300 meters to 2,200 meters and then disappeared from the radar after switching off the transponder.
Igor Korotchenko, the head of the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade, has told Sputnik that the flight path of the aircraft on Flightradar24 supports the investigation of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh on the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipelines.
"Taking into account that the route of American P-8A Poseidon was calculated with refueling over Poland and it was necessary to synchronize all these moments, we can say that its arrival at the given time — immediately after the attack — indicates the scheduled flight and, therefore, is another confirmation of the version put forward by American journalist Hersh of the reasons and circumstances of the attack," Korotchenko said.
"This once again proves the involvement of official US government agencies in this sabotage."
He added that the aircraft recorded the release of gas from the destroyed pipelines and monitored the area for the presence of ships and submarines that could theoretically be there and witness what had happened.
On Wednesday, Hersh wrote an investigative piece describing in detail how US deep-water divers planted explosives under three of Russia's four Nord Stream pipelines. Hersh wrote, based on insider information from sources in the know, that the US detonated the explosives remotely on September 26, 2022, on the order of President Joe Biden.
Hersh reported that the explosives were planted during a NATO Baltic Sea exercise last summer and cited a source with direct knowledge of the US operational planning as saying that Norway played a key role in helping the United States organize the attack and keep the Swedish and Danish navies in the dark.
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