UNITED NATIONS, February 22. /TASS/. The United Nations, being the most influental and most representative international organization, can play an active role in an investigation of last year’s blasts that targeted the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun has said.
"As the most authoritative and representative international organization, the UN can play an active role in conducting an international investigation and ensuring the security of transboundary infrastructure," the Chinese envoy told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
"China welcomes the draft resolution tabled by Russia in the Council, and believes that it is of great significance to authorize an international investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines," he went on, adding that an inquiry into the matter should be "objective, impartial, and professional."
US declarations about its non-involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines is not enough, Zhang Jun said.
"Recently, we have come across a lot of details and relevant information concerning the Nord Stream incident, which is alarming," he said. "Today, the briefers shared with us important information and their reasonable analysis. Faced with such detailed materials and comprehensive evidence, a simple statement of 'utterly false and complete fiction' is obviously not enough to answer the many questions and concerns raised around the world."
"We expect convincing explanations from relevant parties. Such a request is entirely legitimate and reasonable," the Chinese diplomat added.
On September 27, 2022, Nord Stream AG reported unprecedented damage that occurred the day before on three strings of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines. On September 26, Swedish seismologists registered two explosions on the pipeline routes. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case based on charges of international terrorism.
On February 8, US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article, which said, citing sources, that US Navy divers had planted explosive devices under the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines under the cover of the BALTOPS exercise in June 2022, and Norwegians activated the bombs three months later. According to the journalist, the decision to conduct the operation was made by US President Joe Biden personally, following nine months of discussions with White House security specialists. White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a comment to TASS that Hersh’s account was "utterly false and complete fiction.".