Blinken: Nord Stream Explosions ‘Tremendous Opportunity’ for Europe to Stop Using Russian Gas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken devilers a speech on the US-Africa Strategy at the University of Pretoria's Future Africa Campus in Pretoria, on August 8, 2022. - Blinken is on a ten-day trip to Cambodia, Philippines, South Africa, Congo, and Rwanda. (Photo by Andrew Harnik / POOL / AFP) Photo by ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to the reported explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines by saying that it’s a “tremendous opportunity” for European nations to “remove dependence” on Russian natural gas.

“I think first it’s important to make clear that these pipelines—that is, Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2—were not pumping gas into Europe at this time,” Blinken said in remarks over the weekend in Washington. “Nord Stream 2 never became operational, as is well known. Nord Stream 1 has been shut down for weeks because of Russia’s weaponization of energy.”