Sweden shuts Nord Stream probe over lack of jurisdiction, for fear of truth Maria Zakharova said

A Swedish prosecutor probing the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany said Wednesday he was closing the investigation because Sweden does not have jurisdiction.

Mats Ljungqvist said there had been “in-depth cooperation” with Germany over the September 2022 seabed operation and he would “hand over material that can be used as evidence in the German investigation.”

 Sweden’s decision to close its investigation into the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions may be due to its fear of the truth, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"In this particular case, the Swedish authorities - for reasons none of which can be explained logically but one - from the very start showed a lack of serious determination to push the matter through and even address the issue. However, there is a logical explanation. It’s their fear of uncovering the truth about what really happened to the Nord Stream pipelines in the Swedish economic zone," she noted.

According to Zakharova, this is particularly indicated by the fact that the Swedish prosecution had repeatedly rejected Russia’s calls to ensure a transparent and careful investigation into the act of sabotage, engaging the relevant Russian officials and Gazprom’s personnel.

The Swedish prosecution announced earlier that it had closed an investigation into the incident due to a lack of jurisdiction. Sweden handed the evidence it had uncovered over to Germany.