Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the United States Central Intelligence Agency is behind the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage that took place back in 2022. Putin said the U.S. had a “vested interest” in ensuring the pipeline is non-functional.

The pipelines, which were built to deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, were targeted in September of 2022. Several European Union countries launched investigations into the attacks, but no results have been published. During an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, which aired on Thursday, Putin put the blame squarely on the U.S.

Carlson asked Putin point blank who was responsible for blowing up the pipelines, Putin replied: “You, of course,” referring to the United States.  “Maybe you personally have an alibi, but the CIA doesn’t have one.”

“I won’t go into the details but, as the saying goes, in such cases you must search for whoever has a vested interest [in the sabotage],” Putin said, adding that “who had the ability” to carry out the bombing is the key question.

Seymour Hersh: CIA Planted Nord Stream Cover-Up Story in the Media

“Not everyone can access the Baltic Sea seabed and carry out an explosion,” Putin stated, adding that he was surprised by Germany’s silence on the matter.

In 2023, award-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh accused the U.S. of sabotaging the pipelines. The White House dismissed the allegations at the time as “complete fiction.”

“Don’t Talk About Nord Stream”: WaPo Report Further Demolishes Official Narrative

Nord Stream Sabotage Was US Covert Op: Seymour Hersh Bombshell Prompts White House Response

Some media outlets even blamed Ukrainian citizens for the destruction of the pipeline.

Swiss & German Media Outlets Blame Ukrainians For Nord Stream Sabotage

Russia has maintained its stance that the U.S. is fully responsible.

Russia Says The U.S. Has “Questions to Answer” Over Nord Stream Pipelines

Just recently, Swedish prosecutors have said that they will drop their investigation into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines due to having failed to identify any likely suspects, the tabloid Aftonbladet has reported, according to a separate report by RT.