Russia says Nord Stream investigators misleading probe, US deflects
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As Russia urges the resumption of the international investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage, the US declares it a non-urgent matter for the UN.
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Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia vetoes the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons resolution bill during a meeting of Security Council members, April 24, 2024, at United Nations headquarters. (AP)
Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, stated on Friday that those responsible for sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines may be attempting to mislead investigators to conceal their involvement.
During a UN Security Council meeting, he stated, "There is another explanation as to why, of late, we’ve seen more and more far-fetched versions of what happened, and that’s simply that those who ordered and executed this crime are trying to cover their tracks and to point the investigation in the wrong direction."
Nebenzia also remarked that until the investigations are complete, these parties may continue to hinder the UN Security Council's efforts to take action.
He further urged the resumption of investigations to keep the world free from energy threats, saying, "If we want this infrastructure to be free from danger, the terrorist attack targeting the Nord Stream pipeline should be investigated."
US deflects
However, a US diplomat was quick to claim that no evidence exists to prove the United States' involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.
"There is no shred of evidence of US involvement and there never will be, because the United States was not involved."
He further deflected from the topic, saying it was not an urgent matter for the council.
The Nord Stream 2 pipelines, a major infrastructure project aimed at delivering natural gas from Russia to Europe, were targeted in an act of sabotage, with Moscow pointing fingers at the West or Ukraine.
In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian businessmen had funded the attack on the project, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered to halt the attack at the CIA's request.
Russia, however, insisted that the reports shared by WSJ were a mere tactic to divert attention from the actual perpetrators, saying its findings were improbable. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Russian Intelligence is certain that major states were involved in the sabotage.
Russia dismisses German findings
In August, Germany’s chief prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian man suspected of attacking the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea nearly two years ago, according to German media reports.
Public broadcaster ARD, along with the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeitnewspapers, identified the suspect as a Ukrainian citizen who had been residing in Poland but is now in hiding and mentioned that two other individuals had also been involved in the plot.
However, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed the claims that three amateur divers were responsible for the sabotage, calling such narratives naive and insisting on the necessity of an international investigation.
Polyanskiy criticized the narrative, stating, "It looks like those who drafted them were initially making up a scenario that only a child or a very naive person could believe."
Polyanskiy also emphasized that Germany must share its findings from the investigation into the Nord Stream 2 attack with the UN Security Council. "It's its obligation and it's something that we expect to be done in the nearest future," he said.
