MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday the United States had increased prices and sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after gas leaks in the undersea Nord Stream pipelines.
A total of four leaks were discovered last month on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea near Denmark and Sweden. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week blamed the United States and its allies for blowing up the pipelines, an accusation dismissed by the White House.
"There is a party or a party that, in the absence of the functioning of these gas pipelines, is able to sell more LNG at a higher price. This side is well known, it is the United States," Peskov said.
Peskov stopped short of saying who the Kremlin thinks was behind the leaks, adding: "there are also countries that have the military-technological capabilities to carry out such sabotage".
In the Kremlin's view, European countries - the gas buyers - and Russia as a gas seller would not be interested in the gas infrastructure stoppage.
A senior Russian official said on Sunday it was technically possible to restore the Nord Stream gas pipelines, with Peskov saying on Monday they needed to be repaired but that seabed assessments had to be done first.