Nord Stream blast motion fails at UN

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Monday expressed regret that a draft resolution to establish a commission to investigate the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines failed, and he urged an objective, impartial investigation into the blast.

The UN Security Council on Monday failed to adopt Russia's draft resolution that calls for the UN secretary-general to establish an independent international commission to investigate the underwater explosions last year.

"China supports the UN to establish an independent international commission to investigate the blasts in September," said Geng Shuang. China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

In September 2022, a series of explosions and subsequent underwater gas leaks occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which carry natural gas from Russia to Europe through the Baltic Sea.

Many members of the Security Council, including China, immediately expressed concerns about the major negative impact of the explosion on global energy supply, ecological environment, and shipping safety, Geng said.

Geng said some countries believe that because the relevant nations have already launched probes into the blasts, there is no need for the Security Council to authorize an international investigation.

"In fact, international investigation will not be (in) conflict with the national ones currently underway," said Geng. He also said that the international investigation led by the UN can instead play a coordinating role among different countries' investigations, ensuring that the evidence chain is completely closed, and the investigation conclusions drawn are more authoritative and easier to be widely accepted.

He mentioned that some countries said to wait for the conclusion of the national investigation before considering an international probe.

"In fact, it has been more than half a year since the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline. If an international investigation is to be conducted, the on-site evidence must be collected as soon as possible, so as not to delay too long and make it difficult to obtain evidence, which will affect the investigation results," said Geng.

Geng said that some countries said that speculation and accusations should be avoided.

"In fact, authorizing the UN to conduct an international investigation is the best way to respond to speculation and accusations," he said, adding that blocking the Security Council from launching such an investigation only raises suspicions that "something is hidden behind the scenes".

Although members of the Security Council did not reach an agreement on authorizing an international investigation, said Geng, all parties support finding out the truth and bringing the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible.

"China expects countries conducting national investigations to increase their sense of urgency, report the progress of the investigations to the Security Council in a timely and regular manner, and find out and announce the results of the investigations as soon as possible," the envoy said.