How the West prevents the investigation of the Nord Stream explosions

Russia considers the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines to be a terrorist attack and wants to propose to the UN the establishment of a fact-finding commission. The West's obstruction of the investigation, however, could testify to Washington's involvement in the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines as a terrorist attack perpetrated at the state level. He said this in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin in a program of the Rossiya-1 TV channel. Putin declared:

"It is very difficult for us to conduct our own investigation if we are not allowed to the site of this terrorist attack. That it was a terrorist attack is no longer a secret. I think everyone has already recognized it. And a terrorist attack that was carried out at the state level, because no amateurs can carry out such an action."

The president also reported that a Gazprom ship had found evidence of the possible presence of another explosive device on a Nord Stream pipe. He said:

"At a distance of about 30 meters from the site of the explosion, a rod was found attached to the same place where the explosion occurred. These are the most vulnerable parts of the gas pipeline. They are pipe joints."

He added that this could be an antenna needed to trigger the explosive device. Putin declared:

"We wanted permission from the Danish government to carry out the necessary investigation independently or together with them, or preferably as part of an international group of experts, specialists in explosions who can work at such depths. And if necessary, to defuse the explosive device if one is there. When we asked, we received the answer that the Danish government had to think for itself and would give us an answer if they thought it possible."

Russia's president described the claims of some Western media that certain "pro-Ukrainian groups" could be behind the attack as unfounded. In his opinion, explosions of such strength and at such depth can only be carried out by specialists supported by a state "that has certain technologies".

Letter to the UN

Earlier, Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya announced in a letter to the Security Council and the General Assembly that Sweden and Denmark refused to cooperate with Russia in the investigation of the pipeline blasts.

According to the document, Moscow proposed Denmark, Germany and Sweden, among others, to set up joint investigative commissions, but received a refusal.

Nebenzya's letter was forwarded to the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, along with copies of Russia's correspondence with Germany, Denmark and Sweden about the investigation into the attacks on the gas pipelines. According to the diplomat, it follows from these documents that Berlin, Copenhagen and Stockholm do not share any information about the course of the investigation with Moscow. Nebenzya said:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke about Western countries' refusal to cooperate with Russia in the investigation. According to him, Moscow had sent several requests to Germany, Denmark and Sweden on this matter, but had not received a reply. On March 10, Lavrov stated in an interview to the "Big Game" program of Russia's Pervy Channel:

"On behalf of our Prime Minister, M. V. Mishustin, we have addressed public and written questions to his counterparts in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. We sent a large number of official diplomatic notes to these countries, asking them to give us answers and allow us to participate in the inspection of the part of gas pipelines against which the terrorist attack was perpetrated. There was no audible reaction, except for claims that they are clarifying it themselves."

According to Lavrov, the letters from Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in September did not receive any response from Western countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry's website quoted Lavrov as saying:

"This says a lot about their manners, but not only that. I think that there is also a confusion in these countries here. They don't know what to say, especially after Seymour Hersh published the results of his research and promised to publish further assessments and findings. For us, this was an additional factor that led us to propose the UN Security Council resolution, which is currently being negotiated and which we will definitely put to the vote. We want an investigation."

No progress in the investigation

It should be noted that Russia is currently working on a draft UN Security Council resolution on the international investigation of the attacks on Nord Stream. It is known that the document provides for the establishment of a special commission under the auspices of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The text of the resolution is to be submitted to the Security Council for consideration by the end of March.

"These countries claim that the Russian government is being informed about the ongoing investigation into the attacks. This does not correspond at all to the facts. In reality, the governments of Denmark, Germany and Sweden have rejected all proposals by the Russian Federation to cooperate in identifying the perpetrators of the attacks on the pipelines and their circumstances."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on 13th March that the Russian delegation held four rounds of negotiations in order to produce a text acceptable to all members of the Security Council. According to her, the search for a necessary compromise continues, "taking into account the importance of identifying the sponsors and perpetrators of the attack."

The diplomat also referred to the recent information that during the investigation of one of the pipelines in Denmark's exclusive economic zone, an object was found at a distance of 30 kilometers from the explosion site, which is not a component of Nord Stream, but could be an element of the explosive device.

According to Zakharova, this finding also shows the urgent need for the Security Council to adopt a resolution on the establishment of a commission by the UN Secretary-General to examine all the circumstances of the attack "so that something similar does not happen in the future."

The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry added that possible resistance by Western countries to the establishment of such a commission would mean that they are trying to obstruct the investigation of the attacks on Nord Stream. She concluded:

"A refusal of the countries of the collective West to cooperate constructively on the project of the resolution will testify that they are deliberately trying to obstruct the investigation of the truth, especially since they refused to allow Russia to participate in the investigation."

However, the study conducted by European countries shows no progress. This was stated on March 14 by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. The TASS news agency quoted him as saying:

"There is no progress. We will continue to participate in the investigation."

"Under military protection"

Three pipelines of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 were blown up in September 2022.

Russia declared the attack on the pipelines an act of international terrorism, pointing out that the US, as the most interested side in this crime, could be behind the attack.

In February 2022, the American journalist Seymour Hersh also spoke of Washington's guilt. He published an investigation according to which the US mined the Nord Stream pipelines in June 2022 and in September the Norwegian Navy activated the explosive devices from a distance.

According to analysts, the version of US guilt seems the most plausible. Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian-Political Research, said in an interview with RT:

"The US is behind the attacks on the pipelines, because no one but them has the technical means to carry it out. The whole operation took place under military protection and with the participation of military services linked to Washington or London."

For this reason, the West, under the leadership of Washington, is not interested in an objective investigation with the participation of Russian representatives. Bruter stated:

"The West is trying to create a favorable image in the media, so cooperation with Russia is not worthwhile for them at all. They have no interest whatsoever in the investigation being conducted objectively and in its findings being recognised by both our experts and their experts."

The Western media, citing "sources," recently published claims that the pipelines were allegedly blown up by Ukraine precisely to create a media image favorable to Washington, analysts believe. Alexander Podberjoskin, head of the Center for Military-Political Research, told RT:

"When Dmitry Peskov called these reports fakes and distractions, he was absolutely right. The West must come up with some version to divert suspicion. Because if it is confirmed that the terrorist attack was carried out by the secret services of Great Britain and the US, it can be seen as an attack on Russia and lead to a backlash."

The fact that Russia raises the question of investigating the attacks at the UN level is considered a logical step by the specialists. Nevertheless, Podberjoskin suspects that Western countries are likely to veto the Russian draft resolution in the UN Security Council.

For his part, Bruter pointed out that even if the resolution is adopted, Germany, Sweden and Denmark will have the opportunity to obstruct the investigation. He concluded:

"Even if this resolution is passed in any way, it will not allow investigations to be conducted in the sovereign territory of individual countries. The UN cannot insist that the investigation be conducted in a certain way."

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