Impartial investigation into Nord Stream incident impossible without Russia, envoy says
Moscow calls for a thorough investigation into an act of sabotage against the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council.
"Russia calls for a thorough investigation to find out the real cause of what happened," he noted.
"We hope that you (Western members of the UNSC) will refrain from engaging in Russophobic verbal games that defy common sense, similar to those that you used in relation to Ukrainian strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant," Nebenzya said.
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"It is absolutely clear to us that ordinary terrorists aren't capable of carrying out sabotage activities of this complexity and scale. We view actions aimed at damaging the gas pipelines as a deliberate act of sabotage against Russia's crucial energy facility," the envoy stressed.
"We will certainly establish all those involved in this act of sabotage. Any international investigation into what happened can claim impartiality only if Russia takes part in it," Nebenzya added.
Western countries see the act of sabotage that caused gas leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines as some kind of revenge for Russia's activities in Ukraine, Nebenzya said.
US Deputy Representative to the UN Richard Mills earlier dedicated a large part of his address to the meeting to the situation in Ukraine.
"We had not linked the Nord Stream incident to the situation in Ukraine before our US colleague delivered his speech but now we understand that our Western colleagues see this act of sabotage - regardless of who is behind it - as some kind of revenge for Russia's activities in Ukraine," Nebenzya noted.
The Russian envoy added that the US diplomat's remarks "narrow down the suspects and can really facilitate efforts to investigate" the incident.
On Tuesday, the Nord Stream AG company reported that three threads of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 offshore gas pipelines had suffered unprecedented damage on September 26.
Swedish seismologists later reported that two explosions had been recorded along the Nord Stream pipelines. Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the situation on the West. "It's clear to everyone who benefits from this. And the one who benefits from this is the one who did it," Putin stressed.
