American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a shocking article in February in which he claimed that the US and Norway were behind the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines last September. Western officials dismissed Hersh's reporting on the sabotage operation, while Russia vowed not to let the Nord Stream investigation go unnoticed.

The former Head of the French Military Mission at the United Nations said that the West may be purposefully suppressing the findings of investigations into the Nord Stream blasts, according to General Dominique Trinquand.

Investigations by Denmark, #Germany, and #Sweden into explosions on the #NordStream gas pipelines have not yet concluded as #Russia remains excluded from the ongoing probe. pic.twitter.com/UnlJbRQZxT

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 22, 2023

The fact that no conclusions have been presented from three Western investigations into the explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas infrastructure may indicate that their findings have been swept under the rug, according to the general during a TV interview.
 
“We do not have all the information in hand. What I find amazing is that German, Swedish, and Danish investigations have already collected a lot of information, yet there have still been no conclusions. So one might surmise that there are conclusions they simply do not want to make public," Trinquand stated in a video of the interview, posted on YouTube.

Who benefited from this crime? : Military expert in geostrategy 

The general said that the fact that the gas pipeline belongs to a Russian company shows a priori that Russia would not benefit from the explosion.

Trinquand expressed confidence in US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh's "high quality and detailed" investigation. Hersh accused the US leadership of orchestrating the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines in late September 2022 in his February article.

Hersh, who cited sources familiar with the operation's planning, said that US Navy divers planted explosive charges on the pipelines during the summer of 2022, under the cover of a NATO military exercise in the Baltic Sea.

To avoid casting suspicion on the perpetrators, the explosives were reportedly detonated remotely three months later.

Read next: Nord Stream blast investigation requires legislative mandate: UN

In response to these shocking revelations, General Dominique Trinquand stated that Hersh's version of events was credible. "I believe the version presented is absolutely trustworthy... This is not merely reliable but also checked - everyone can do this at present," the General noted, pointing to the current widespread opportunities for tracking aircraft and marine vessels.

"If Russia had been involved in the blasts, as some claimed, then Germany, Denmark, and Sweden would have definitely found that out during their investigations," the expert said, adding that since this has not been proven, "there is a need to search in a different direction."

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas infrastructure was built by Russian and European energy companies to carry up to 110 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia to Europe via pipelines along the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Read next: Kremlin blasts Western media downplay of Hersh’s documents

Sections of pipelines off the Danish Island of Bornholm were struck in a coordinated terror attack on  September 26, 2022. Russian officials accused the "Anglo-Saxons" of responsibility a month after the incident. 

When investigative journalist Seymour Hersh detailed the sabotage operation in his article, Western officials dismissed the reporting as false, while mainstream media either ignored the story or attempted to smear the investigative journalist himself.

However, Russia has no intention to allow Western countries to just sweep the interrogation under the rug, as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated recently during a press conference, following the G20 meeting for foreign ministers in New Delhi, India.