Russia's UN Partners Have No Desire to Probe US Role in Nord Stream Blasts Despite Smoking Gun
© Photo : Swedish Coast Guard
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Russia presented a UN Security Council draft resolution requesting that the secretary-general conduct an independent international investigation to verify the facts Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh put forward earlier, claiming the US sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines.
Harsh accusations were traded, lines were drawn, and no vote was taken at a United Nations Security Council session on February 22, called by Russia over the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.
Russia circulated a draft resolution on February 17, calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a commission that would conduct a “comprehensive, transparent and impartial international investigation of all aspects of the act of sabotage … including identification of its perpetrators, sponsors, organizers and accomplices.”
'Covering Up Tracks'
“We are not here to set up a trial in the Security Council,” Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said during discussions on the matter at the international body. He stressed that Moscow’s request for an independent investigation was prompted by doubts about the integrity and transparency of Denmark, Germany, and Sweden in their ongoing inquiries. As Nebenzya reiterated that Moscow hasn’t been allowed to take part in the investigations by any of the three countries, he insisted they were "not only not transparent, but it is quite clear that they seek just to cover the tracks and stick up for their ... American brother.”
The UN secretary-general “is someone we trust” to lead an investigation, Nebenzya said, adding that there was “proof that explosives had been planted” near the 1,224-kilometre-long pipelines delivering gas from Russia to Europe during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise in the summer of 2022.
This was a reference to a report published earlier this month by Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh on his blog. The reporter stated that US Navy divers during the NATO BALTOPS exercises in the summer of 2022 planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, which Norway activated three months later. US President Joe Biden opted to authorize the sabotage after more than nine months of secret deliberations with his national security team, the report based on insider information said.
“This journalist is telling the truth. This is more than just a smoking gun that detectives love in Hollywood blockbusters. It’s a basic principle of justice; everything is in your hands, and we can resolve this today,” Nebenzya told Security Council members.
In this picture provided by Swedish Coast Guard, the gas leak in the Baltic Sea from Nord Stream photographed from the Coast Guard's aircraft on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2022
© Photo : Swedish Coast Guard
US 'Animus' to Nord Stream
In support of Russia’s call for a UN investigation, presentations were offered on Tuesday by economist and Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, and retired CIA officer/political activist Raymond McGovern.
"A UN Security Council objective investigation of the Nord Stream terrorists in which all countries contribute what they know, is important for the global confidence in this body…" Sachs told Security Council members.
Sachs homed in on the White House's labeling of Hersh’s allegations as “completely and utterly false," saying that senior American officials, “made statements before and after” the blasts “that showed US animus toward the pipelines.”
McGovern stated that he associated himself "completely with Sachs’ comments.”
'Legitimate, Reasonable' Requests
The resolution put forth by Russia at the UNSC meeting was backed by China, whose envoy said a request for an independent investigation “is entirely legitimate and reasonable.”
“A simple statement of utterly false and complete fiction is obviously not enough to answer the many questions and concerns raised around the world,” Zhang Jun added, in reference to Washington’s vehement dismissal of the Nord Stream sabotage charges laid at its door.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was necessary to conduct an impartial investigation into the Nord Stream explosions and bring those responsible to justice.
And yet, the investigation into the act of terrorism targeting Nord Stream remains stuck at the "ongoing" stage, with pipeline operator Russia and other interested parties barred from national investigations into the matter, as underscored by Moscow in the draft resolution.
"We do not see a desire from our partners to cooperate" in an independent investigation to verify a report that presented significant details that the United States was behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, Nebenzya said.
Denial & Blatant Lies
A verbal barrage of denial and accusations targeted Russia over its demands for an impartial probe into the Nord Stream blasts.
US Ambassador John Kelley insisted that the United States was "deeply concerned by the sabotage that took place on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last September. Deliberate actions to damage critical infrastructure cannot be tolerated."
But in the same breath, he told the UN Security Council that, “clearly and plainly: Accusations that the United States was involved in this act of sabotage are completely false. The United States was not involved in any way.” He also claimed that “today’s meeting is a blatant attempt to distract” from the forthcoming emergency meeting of the General Assembly to mark one year since Moscow’s launch of its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
“Russia desperately wants to change the subject... Russia is abusing its position as a Council member,” Kelley quipped.
“Russia desperately wants to change the subject... Russia is abusing its position as a Council member,” Kelley quipped.
Russia was again accused of brandishing "unfounded accusations," this time by UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo. In a briefing to the Council, she called on the parties to “show restraint and avoid any speculation” that might, ostensibly, "inhibit the search for the truth.”
The UN “is not in a position to verify or confirm any of the claims relating to Nord Stream incidents, and we await the findings of ongoing national investigations,” she argued, adding that preliminary results of inquiries show “extensive damage,” signs of “gross sabotage” and “foreign items” seized at the site.
21 February 2023, 18:53 GMT
'Act of Terrorism'
Blasts occurred simultaneously at three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. The incidents, designated by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office as an international terrorist act, halted gas deliveries to Germany ahead of the cold season, prompting gas costs to surge. Russian President Vladimir Putin also slammed the explosion in the gas pipeline as a blatant act of terrorism. While at the time not excluding targeted sabotage, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have still failed to produce any conclusive report.
Ahead of the UN Security Council meeting called at Russia's request, the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden, and Germany sent a letter to council members saying that their investigations established “that there has been extensive damage” to the pipelines “and that the damage was caused by powerful explosions due to sabotage.”
“These investigations have not yet been concluded,” the letter said, and “at this point, it is not possible to say when they will be concluded.”
Albeit expressing "deep concern” over the acts of sabotage against the pipelines, which they claimed were “unacceptable," the trio added in the letter that Russian authorities “have been informed regarding the ongoing investigations.”
However, Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told reporters:
“They are claiming that they are informing Russia about it which is not true ... Any attempt for us to get any information was rejected by them or ignored.”
