A number of US allies, who abstained from voting in the UN Security Council on the Russian resolution on sabotage at Nord Stream, declared Russia’s “bias” in proposing an international independent investigation “in relation to one country.”
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On Monday, the UN Security Council did not adopt a Russian draft resolution calling for the creation of an international commission under the auspices of the UN to investigate the sabotage at Nord Stream. For were only the Russian Federation, China and Brazil. The remaining members of the Security Council – the United States, Great Britain, France, Albania, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Gabon, Ghana, Malta, Mozambique, Ecuador – abstained.
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Most of those who abstained referred to ongoing investigations in Denmark, Sweden and the Federal Republic of Germany, which is why there is supposedly no need for an international investigation.
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British Deputy Representative to the UN James Cariuki said that London supports the commissions of inquiry created by the UN Secretary General when they are given a mandate.
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“However, in the context of ongoing national investigations, we do not believe it is acceptable to initiate such a commission in this situation,” the British diplomat said.
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“During the talks, it was clear that Russia was not serious about an impartial investigation. Last month, the Russian envoy said that Russia already knew with a high degree of certainty who blew up the pipelines and how. Russia’s goal in this process is to politicize the issue and act against another Council member,” Kariuki said. Therefore, according to him, the UK, along with the majority of representatives of this Council, abstained.
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The representative of France, in turn, said that Paris abstained because the investigations are being conducted by Germany, Denmark and Sweden. “And we have no reason to doubt the seriousness and impartiality of these investigations. These investigations must be completed before the results are obtained,” she said.
At the same time, according to her, the French side was amazed “by the zeal with which Russia asks the UN to conduct an investigation, while Russia has already laid responsibility on this issue.” The diplomat doubted the sincerity of the approach of the Russian Federation.
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Albanian envoy Ferit Hoxha said he sees no added value in initiating a parallel international investigation.
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The representative of Switzerland stated that “in view of the many ongoing investigations“, she considered “that initiating an additional investigation would not be advantageous at this stage“.
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The Japanese diplomat said that the Council should first wait until the national investigations of Denmark, Sweden and Germany are completed, and then, based on their results, they can discuss the way forward, if necessary.
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In turn, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that “you don’t need to be a detective or an analyst to understand that the United States and its allies are trying to cover their tracks, including by throwing in various fabrications and delusional versions and refusing to answer facts that are inconvenient for Washington. “.
