WORLD – NORD STREAM
The UN Security Council did not support Russia’s resolution to hold an international investigation under the organisation’s auspices into the explosions at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. In a vote on Monday, 27 March, only three countries – Russia, China and Brazil – supported the document, with the remaining 12 Council members abstaining.
The resolution required at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, the PRC, France, the US or the UK. Most states abstaining during the vote on the Russian resolution explained this by a desire to await the outcome of ongoing national investigations.
Russia's position
For his part, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that the Russian side had serious doubts about the impartiality and transparency of the national investigations carried out by some European countries.
He pointed to “growing suspicions” that the three investigations “are not aimed at finding out what actually happened to these acts of sabotage, but rather at concealing evidence and mopping up the crime scene”.
“I think that after today’s vote, the suspicions about who is behind the act of sabotage against Nord Stream are simply obvious,” Nebenzya added.
Several UNSC member states reaffirmed their confidence in Sweden, Germany and Denmark and condemned Russia’s attempt to divert attention from its invasion of Ukraine.
“This was an attempt to discredit the work of the ongoing national investigations and to create prejudice against any conclusions drawn therein that do not fit Russia’s predetermined and political narrative,” said Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood.
Explosions at North Streams
The explosions that damaged three of the four branches of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany took place in late September 2022. None of the damaged pipes was transporting gas at the time. “Nord Stream was stopped by Russia shortly before the explosions, and Nord Stream 2 was never launched amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
One branch was left undamaged, and after the incident Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to pump gas through it, but Germany rejected the offer.
Sweden and Denmark are investigating the explosions, as the damage occurred in their exclusive economic zones. Germany is also participating in the investigation.
In a joint letter to the UN Security Council, Berlin, Stockholm and Copenhagen said that the gas pipelines were damaged by “massive explosions caused by sabotage”. The United States and NATO, for their part, also called it an “act of sabotage”.
Sources: Deutsche Welle / Neatkariga
