U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that American officials have not confirmed sabotage or an attack after leaks were found on Russian gas pipelines.
"The leaks are under investigation," said Blinken. "Their initial reports indicating that this may be the result of an attack or some kind of sabotage. But these are initial reports and we haven't confirmed that yet. But if it is confirmed, that's clearly in no one's interest."
Blinken's comments came Tuesday during a press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the State Department.
Explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on two natural gas pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany, seismologists said Tuesday.
Some European leaders and experts are pointing to possible sabotage during an energy standoff with Russia provoked by the war in Ukraine.
The three leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which are filled with natural gas but not delivering the fuel to Europe, overshadowed the inauguration of a long-awaited pipeline that will bring Norwegian gas to Poland to bolster the continent's energy independence from Moscow.
Russia has halted flows on the 1,224-kilometer (760-mile) Nord Stream 1 pipeline during the war, while Germany prevented them from ever starting in the parallel Nord Stream 2.
The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears.
The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession.
Blinken also said "we will not indeed we will never recognize the annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia."
This comes as the voting on Kremlin-orchestrated referendums came to an end.
Moscow is expected to use as a pretext to annex Russian-held regions of Ukraine and escalate the war concluded.
The actions have heightened tensions with Western countries that have already declared the votes illegitimate.
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