MOSCOW: Moscow said Wednesday it should be part of the probe into leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, after Sweden blocked off the area around the pipelines pending an investigation.
“There should really be an investigation. Naturally, with the participation of Russia,” Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin said, as quoted by Russian news agencies.
Four leaks were discovered last week on the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to Germany, raising political tensions already sky high since the Kremlin sent troop to Ukraine in February.
On Friday, the UN Security Council held a meeting on the issue.
Vershinin told the assembly that “the general opinion was that this was sabotage and that it should be investigated” but that “no decision had been made” on an international probe.
Last Wednesday, Russia launched an “international terrorism” investigation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a probe “required the cooperation of several countries.”
He denounced an “acute shortage of communications and unwillingness of many countries to contact” Russia.
On Monday, Sweden blocked off the area around the pipeline leaks in the Baltic Sea while the suspected sabotage was being investigated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of being behind the blasts.
Russia’s Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev said Wednesday that “it is clear that the United States is the beneficiary, primarily economic” of the leaks.
Both Moscow and Washington have denied involvement.
Russia: Moscow should be part of Nord Stream leaks probe
https://arab.news/4z6we
Russia: Moscow should be part of Nord Stream leaks probe
- Four leaks were discovered last week on the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to Germany
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of being behind the blasts
Ethiopia begins $12.5 billion construction of ‘Africa’s biggest airport’
- The state-owned airline got the contract to design the four-runway airport in the town located around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa
BISHOFTU: Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday officially started a $12.5 billion construction project for what officials say will be Africa’s biggest airport when completed in 2030 in the Ethiopian town of Bishoftu.
The state-owned airline got the contract to design the four-runway airport in the town located around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.
“Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said on X. The airport will have space to park 270 planes and capacity for 110 million passengers a year.
That is more than four times the capacity of Ethiopia’s current main airport, which will reach its limits on existing traffic in the next two-to-three years, Abiy said.
The airline’s Infrastructure Development & Planning Director Abraham Tesfaye told reporters it would fund 30 percent and lenders would finance the rest.
It has already allocated $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year, he said at the site, with the main contractors scheduled to start work in August 2026.
The project was initially billed at $10 billion.
Other creditors include the African Development Bank, which last August said it would lend $500 million and lead efforts to raise $8.7 billion.
“Lenders from Middle East, Europe, China and USA have shown strong interest to finance the project,” Abraham said.
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s biggest carrier. It added six extra routes in 2024/25, while revenues are also expanding.
