'Unthinkable' That Russia Will be Excluded from Nord Stream Probe, Foreign Ministry Says

Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday it was "unthinkable" that an investigation into ruptures on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines would proceed without Russia's participation.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the West was purposefully creating obstacles to the investigation and said the exclusion of Russia and Gazprom from the probe showed it had something to hide.

President Vladimir Putin last week directly accused the United States and its allies of carrying out the attack on the pipelines, which has threatened to put them permanently out of use.

 (Reporting by Reuters)

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