Calls mount for probe into alleged US involvement in Nord Stream blasts

Three European countries looking into the details surrounding last September's Nord Stream pipelines explosion said on Tuesday they are not sure when their probes will be complete, even as allegations swirl that the United States may have been responsible for the underwater blast.

A leading European analyst told Xinhua on Tuesday potential proof of U.S. involvement would impact the way each side of the Ukraine crisis is viewed internationally.

Davide Tabarelli, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Bologna and president of Nomisma Energia, an energy research consultancy, said rumors of possible U.S. sabotage were out even earlier than the latest debate.

"We have heard rumors of a possible involvement by the United States for several weeks, well before the latest accusations," Tabarelli told Xinhua.

The Nord Stream pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to European markets via Germany, were severely damaged last September after blasts in the Baltic Sea.

One pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was in operation at the time of the explosion and Nord Stream 2, though had not been operational, was filled with gas.

Recent allegations from Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh and others said that the attack had been carried out by divers from the U.S. Navy.