BERLIN, March 28. /TASS/. The fact that Western countries are refusing to support the Russian-Chinese resolution on an international investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage at the UN Security Council shows their desire to conceal the United States' involvement in the sabotage, Steffen Kotre, a member of the Bundestag (German parliament) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and a member of the Committee on Climate Action and Energy, told TASS.
"Their decision to abstain [from voting] clearly demonstrates that Western countries proceed from the fact that the gas pipelines were blown up by the US. If they assumed that it was Russia’s fault, they would have adopted it [the resolution]," the lawmaker said. "[According to them,] the truth must never be revealed. The cover-up has already spawned grotesque and absurd tales about sabotage with the use of a yacht. The refusal to involve Russia [in the investigation] is also indicative of this cover-up," he stressed.
"The investigation has long established US involvement. Russia, as a victim, would of course have made everything public. The West does not want that," Kotre pointed out.
On Monday, the UN Security Council did not support a resolution by Russia and China on an international investigation into the sabotage at the Nord Stream pipelines. The document was supported by three countries, with no votes against and 12 countries abstaining. Thus, the resolution did not garner the nine votes necessary for approval. Russia, China and Brazil voted for it, while Albania, the UK, Gabon, Ghana, Malta, Mozambique, the UAE, the US, France, Switzerland, Ecuador and Japan abstained. Belarus, Venezuela, North Korea, Nicaragua, Syria and Eritrea were also among the resolution’s coauthors but they are not members of the UN Security Council and did not participate in the vote.
The resolution’s draft proposed to entrust UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with establishing an independent international investigation commission "to conduct a comprehensive, transparent and impartial international investigation of all aspects of the act of sabotage on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines — including identifying its perpetrators, sponsors, organizers and accomplices."
Investigation into Nord Streams sabotage
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."
The German government has refrained from speculating about who masterminded the sabotage and asked to await the results of the investigation.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported, citing US officials, that the latest intelligence data suggest a pro-Ukrainian group could have been behind the sabotage at the pipelines. The US government wasn’t aware of the operation, the report said. The German newspaper Die Zeit issued a report that said German investigators had identified the ship that was used by the saboteurs. The company that rented it was allegedly owned by Ukrainian nationals and was registered in Poland.
Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the version put forward by the New York Times was "complete nonsense." The Russian leader stressed that "such explosions — of such power and such depth — can only be carried out by experts with backing from a state that has such capabilities." When asked whether it could be assumed that Western countries were behind it, he answered: "Of course!"