WASHINGTON, Feb 16 — The United States should try to prove it was not behind the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that connected Russia to Western Europe, the Russian embassy to the United States said on Thursday.

Moscow considers the destruction of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last September "an act of international terrorism” and will not allow it to be swept under the rug, the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy referred to a blog post by journalist Seymour Hersh citing an unidentified source as saying that US Navy divers had destroyed the pipelines with explosives on the orders of President Joe Biden.

The White House has dismissed the allegations as "utterly false and complete fiction”.

US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday "it is pure disinformation that the United States was behind what transpired” with Nord Stream, provoking the fresh Russian comment. — Reuters