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Yesterday, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution submitted by Russia calling for the formation of an “independent international commission of inquiry” into sabotage operations against the “Nord Stream” 1 and 2 gas pipelines last September.
The text supported by China and non-members of the Council (Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Syria) received 3 votes (Russia, China and Brazil), while the remaining members of the Council, consisting of 15 countries, abstained.
Russia justified its request by asserting that it had been excluded from the investigations conducted by Sweden, Germany and Denmark.
Several council members refused to form an international commission, affirming their confidence in the three countries conducting the investigations, and denouncing Russia’s attempt to “distract attention from the invasion of Ukraine.”
The text calls on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to form a commission to conduct an international investigation “comprehensive, transparent and impartial into all aspects of the sabotage of the two gas pipelines, including identifying the perpetrators, planners, organizers and accomplices.”
In order to adopt the text, at least 9 members must vote in favor of it, and no permanent member of the Council should use the veto power against it.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, questioned “the objectivity of the national investigations conducted by certain European countries,” noting that there are also doubts about “the measures that were carried out under the cover of investigations to obliterate evidence and clean up the crime scene,” as he described it.
“I think after today’s vote, suspicions are clear as to who is behind the Nord Stream sabotage,” Nebenzia added.
For his part, Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, “strongly” rejected the “baseless” Russian accusations against his country.
About 6 months after the explosions that hit Russian pipelines, it is not yet clear who was responsible for the underwater attack.
In a recently published investigation, American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh indicated that last June, divers in the US Navy, with the help of Norway, planted explosives on the pipeline, which extends between Russia and Germany under the water, to detonate them after 3 months, according to the “Times” newspaper. (The Times) British.
On the other hand, Washington denied these accusations, and spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, described Hersh’s investigation as “a figment of the imagination.”
The New York Times wasNew York Times) suggested the involvement of a “pro-Ukrainian group” in this sabotage, based on intelligence information reviewed by US officials.
The explosion on September 26, 2022 severely damaged the Nord Stream lines in the Baltic Sea, which transport Russian gas to Europe, and Moscow and Western countries exchanged accusations about responsibility for the bombing.
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