Lavrov says Russia will weigh options if West blocks Nord Stream probe

Russia will think about how to respond to the West if an "objective, impartial investigation" into the explosions at the Nord Stream pipelines is blocked, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

"I don’t want to threaten anyone and I don’t want to hint at anything, but I just know that this flagrant terrorist attack will not remain uninvestigated," he said in an interview with "The Great Game" program on Channel One.

"And if an objective, impartial investigation - which is transparent, of course - is blocked we will think about how to respond to the West for this direct attack, direct attack on our property, basically," he added.

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported, citing US officials, that a "pro-Ukrainian group" that acted without the knowledge of US authorities could have committed the sabotage on the gas pipelines. The Zeit newspaper wrote that German investigators had identified a vessel used by the saboteurs. The company that rented it allegedly belonged to Ukrainian citizens and was registered in Poland.