Putin accuses the West of sabotaging Baltic Sea pipelines

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of sabotaging the Russia-built gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea to Germany. Speaking Friday in Moscow at a ceremony to annex four regions of Ukraine into Russia, Putin said the “Anglo-Saxons” in the West have turned from sanctions to “terror attacks,” sabotaging the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Putin described the alleged move as an attempt to “destroy the European energy infrastructure.” Earlier Friday, Denmark and Sweden said the explosions that rocked natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea ahead of huge methane leaks “probably corresponded to an explosive load of several hundred kilos (pounds).” Moscow has requested an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council to discuss the pipelines