united nations –
Russia clashed with the United States and other Western countries on Tuesday over the Kremlin’s call for a UN investigation into last September’s sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Western Europe.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council that Moscow “does not trust” the separate investigations being conducted by Denmark, Sweden and Germany, but that UN Secretary-General António Guterres He said he had “complete confidence” in establishing an investigation. of an explosion.
The US, UK, France and others have authorities in three countries investigating the pipeline attack and the real reason Russia has now procured Nord Stream 1 and 2 is the one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine and the actions of high Moscow. Level UN activities over the next three days, including the adoption of condemning General Assembly resolutions.
“Today’s meeting is a blatant attempt to distract from this issue,” US Counselor John Kerry told the council. “As the world comes together this week to demand a just and secure peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, Russia desperately wants to change the subject.”
Ahead of the meeting, ambassadors from Denmark, Sweden and Germany wrote to members of the council saying that an investigation had found the pipeline to have been extensively damaged “by a powerful sabotage explosion”.
A letter circulated Tuesday morning said further investigations were underway in all three countries and it was unclear when they would be completed.Russian officials said they had been notified of the investigations.
However, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters, “They claim that they are providing information to Russia, which is not true. either rejected or ignored by
Late last week, Russia circulated a draft resolution to council members urging the UN secretary-general to urgently establish a commission to investigate the Nord Stream attack. Security Council experts held closed-door consultations on the proposed resolution on Monday, with diplomats on the council saying they have opposition to it.
Russia’s Nevenzia said Moscow was not allowed to participate in the investigation by the three countries, saying that “not only is there no transparency, they are just trying to cover up their tracks and hold on for themselves.” is clear, brother.”
Russia claims the United States is behind the sabotage, saying its proposed resolution “came after repeated threats to Nord Stream by US leaders.”
U.S. diplomat Kelley told the council, “Clearly and clearly, the accusations that the United States was involved in this sabotage are completely false. The United States was not involved in any way.”
Nord Stream 1 carried Russian gas to Germany until Moscow cut supplies at the end of August 2022. Nord Stream 2 did not enter service as Germany stopped the certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on his February 24th, 2022. September 26th.
UN Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, reporting to the Security Council, said the UN was not in a position to verify claims about the explosion and urged “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid speculation.”
“What happened under the Baltic Sea in September 2022 is still unknown, but whatever the cause of the incident, its fallout is one of the many risks the Ukrainian invasion has unleashed,” it said. she said.
Economist Jeffrey Sachs told the council that the consequences of the sabotage were “tremendous” not only in terms of economic losses but also the growing threat to all transnational infrastructure, including undersea internet cables and offshore wind farms. He said there is
“It is important for the United Nations Security Council to address the question of who may have perpetrated the act in order to bring the perpetrator to international justice, seek reparation for the injured party, and prevent such behavior in the future. It is the responsibility of the Security Council,” he said.
A professor at Columbia University, Sachs is Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a member of the United Nations Broadband Development Commission. He said he was invited by Russia to speak and attended the council for himself.
Destroying the pipeline “requires a very high degree of planning, expertise and technical prowess,” Sachs said, adding that doing so in the Danish and Swedish exclusive economic zones would “be very complex.” ‘ said.
“Only national-level actors with both technical capacity and access to the Baltic Sea, including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, individually or in any combination,” it said. Mr Sachs said. “Ukraine does not have the necessary technology and does not have access to the Baltic Sea.”
In letters to the Council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that sabotage of the pipeline was “unacceptable, endangers international security and is a cause for our deep concern.”
They added that concerns about indirect impacts on greenhouse gas emissions were “substantial and concerning.”
Russia’s draft resolution expresses serious concern about the “catastrophic environmental consequences” of sabotage that “threats international peace and security”.
