China's cooperation on the draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council calling for an investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage is an important sign that Beijing shares Moscow's concerns on this matter, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy told Sputnik.

This comes just one day after UNSC failed to adopt the Russian draft calling for the Nord Stream probe.

The resolution was put forward by the representative of the Russian Federation, calling for establishing an international independent investigative commission into the September 2022 acts in the Baltic Sea.

"This draft resolution on Nord stream was presented jointly by Russia and China, which is also an important sign that China is sharing our concerns," Polyanskiy said. "China is sharing our demands for the investigation of this sabotage. I think we will continue like this."

He also affirmed that cooperation between Russia and China will be strengthened.

"We will not be dependent so much on the dollar and this process of de-dollarization is going on," Polyanskiy said. "I think that Yuan is now the most popular currency in Russia, and this is only increasing and we think it's positive because China is a stable and reliable international partner."

Read next: De-dollarization: Slowly but surely

On the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, known as the Grain deal, he confirmed that no country participating in the deal has officially opposed the extension of the pact.

"If the other two parties do not agree to this, they should have notified us in writing and the deal would have been over but it didn't happen," Polyanskiy said. "It means that if they didn't notify us that they are against the 60-day prolongation, then it is prolonged for 60 days. That's how we count it and we don’t have any other coordinates."

The Initiative was renewed in mid-March. While Ukraine and Turkey said the extension was for 120 days, Russia insisted that the deal would be effective for 60 days only.

Regarding the battle for Bakhmut, the top Russian official criticized Ukraine for what he called turning the city of Bakhmut into a symbolic fight, which he further described as "a tragic mistake."

"As for the Ukrainian side, I think they have themselves transformed Bakhmut into a kind of a symbol. And this is their tragic mistake, because now they are throwing in more and more inexperienced conscripts as cannon fodder to this region," Polyanskiy told Sputnik. "The Ukrainian public is also aware of this terrible situation."

Read next: Bakhmut might fall to Wagner PMC: Pentagon
 
Commenting on the stance of a sizeable portion of the US public regarding the war in Ukraine, Polyanskiy stated that he has seen a positive shift in the US public's perception of Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.

"I personally feel this shift in public opinion," Polyanskiy said. "At the beginning of our special military operation, many people were disoriented and they had very wrong perception of what our aims are and what is really behind the special military operations."

It is worth noting that support among the American public for giving Ukraine weapons and direct economic assistance has waned as the war approached its one-year mark, as per a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Read next: US may directly meddle in Ukraine war, Seymour Hersh warns