(ANSA-AFP) - HELSINKI, OCT 10 - Finnish President Sauli
Niinisto said on Tuesday a leak leading to the shutdown of a
natural gas pipeline from Estonia to Finland this weekend was
probably caused by an "external" element. "It is likely that the
damage to both the gas pipeline and the telecommunications cable
is the result of external activity," Niinisto said. He did not
elaborate. The head of state said the cause of the damage was
not yet clear and both countries were cooperating in an ongoing
investigation. Niinisto said he had been in touch with NATO
secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and NATO was ready to assist
in the investigation. "NATO is sharing information and stands
ready to support Allies concerned," Stoltenberg said in a post
on X, formerly Twitter. Finland's gas network operator,
state-owned Gasgrid, said on Sunday that the Balticconnector
pipeline had been shut down over a suspected leak. The operator
said "an unusual drop in pressure" had been noticed in the
pipeline running along the seabed of the Gulf of Finland.
(ANSA-AFP).
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