The United Nations Security Council discussed Friday evening, during an emergency session called by Russia, the dangers posed to European energy security after the targeting of Nord Stream lines in the Baltic Sea.
In his speech during the session, Russia's representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, revealed that the Russian Prosecutor General's Office had opened an international investigation according to criminal proceedings under the Terrorism Law.
In a veiled accusation of the United States of America, the Russian delegate said that sabotaging the Nord Stream line with such a complexity exceeds the power of ordinary terrorists, and makes it impossible to happen without the intervention of a state or state-controlled entities.
He added that the United States had a lot to gain in the gas trade from the damage to the Nord Stream pipeline network under the Baltic Sea, but stopped short of blaming Washington for this week's explosions.
On the other hand, Richard Mills, the deputy US representative to the Security Council, categorically denied any US involvement in this incident, and rejected any statements to the contrary.
Mills added that the United States has boosted exports of liquefied natural gas in recent years because Russia has not long been a reliable supplier of energy to Europe, because in recent years it has cut off gas supplies to Eastern Europe in the winter during disputes over gas prices.
And US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that the United States or one of its allies was behind the Nord Stream incident is blatant misleading, as he described it, and added that the United States supports the ongoing investigations to find out who is responsible for the incident.
The European Union is investigating the cause of the leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, and says it suspects the damage off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden was caused by sabotage.
Since the cracks were first discovered earlier this week, Russia and Western powers have accused each other of sabotaging Nord Stream's two lines in the Baltic.
The Swedish Coast Guard revealed the fourth leak on the Swedish side, in addition to leaks at 3 other sites previously detected in the Baltic, one of which is also on the Swedish side and two in two sites on the Danish side.
The leaks occurred after suspicious explosions Monday in international waters off the Danish island of Bornholm, but in the two countries' exclusive economic zones, and the leaks appear on the surface of the water with large bubbles.