Putin says Nord Stream blasts carried out on 'state level'

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the development of the Far East, via video link, in Ulan-Ude, Buryatia republic, Russia March 14, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that last year's blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines had been carried out on a "state level", dismissing the idea an autonomous pro-Ukraine group was responsible as "complete nonsense".

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea were hit by a series of unexplained explosions last September, in what Moscow has called an act of "international terrorism".