ISTANBUL 

The Kremlin said on Monday that the fate of the Nord Stream gas pipelines would be decided by Russian gas giant Gazprom and its shareholders.

"Of course, this is a decision that should be taken collectively by all shareholders — this is an international project," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing in Moscow.

Noting that Gazprom was among the shareholders of the Nord Stream project, Peskov did not respond to questions on whether the Kremlin would provide any recommendations on the matter to the majority state-owned company.

"First of all, you need to contact Gazprom," Peskov said.

The pipelines, which carried Russian natural gas to northern Germany via the Baltic Sea, were ruptured in a series of blasts on Sept. 26, causing leaks in what officials from countries in the region called likely sabotage.

Germany halted the operation of Nord Stream 2 in February last year, soon after its construction was completed several months earlier, over Russia's war on Ukraine. Gazprom halted the flow from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline later on Aug. 31.

Peskov also dismissed claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to Beijing through his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who was on an official visit to China on Feb. 28-Mar. 2.

He also said that no new meetings were scheduled between Putin and Lukashenko, adding that such contacts could be quickly organized if necessary.