On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said that it is believed Russia may be able to fix the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which were damaged earlier this week in an act of apparent sabotage.

In an interview with Russia 1 TV, Novak said, “There are technical possibilities to restore the infrastructure, it requires time and appropriate funds. I am sure that appropriate opportunities will be found.” He added however that the first step should be discovering who was behind the attack.

Novak stated, “As of today, we proceed from the fact that it is necessary, first of all, to figure out who did it, and we are sure that certain countries, which had expressed their positions before, were interested in it. Both the US and Ukraine, as well as Poland at one time said that this infrastructure is not going to work, that they will do everything to make sure of it, so, of course, it is necessary to seriously look into it.”

Previously, Der Tagesspiegel newspaper, citing German security services, had said the damage to the pipelines could be permanent if repairs are not performed quickly, as salt water could enter the pipes and corrode them.

On Monday, Danish authorities has reported that both pipelines were leaking, after the operator had noted suddenly dropping pressures in the pipelines. Seismologists confirmed there had been underseas explosions at the site of the leaks.

Over the weekend, the Danish Energy Agency reported that the pressures in both pipelines had stabilized, indicating the gas leakage was over.

The incidents are assumed to be acts of sabotage, with most analysts noting Russia had hoped to use the supply of gas to Europe as a political lever, and the US President and State Department had made statements advocating for the destruction of the pipeline. Russia has strongly asserted it believes the United States was behind the blasts, however the US has denied complicity.