Chinese envoy urges Security Council to keep attention on probe of Nord Stream explosions

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) — A Chinese envoy on Friday called on the UN Security Council to keep its attention on the investigation of the Nord Stream pipelines explosions, refrain from allowing it to fade away, and put an end to double standards.
Two years ago, the Nord Stream pipelines exploded in the Baltic Sea, which “has serious negative impact on global energy supplies, marine ecosystems, and the safety of maritime shipping,” said Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, at the Security Council briefing on Nord Stream.
Over the past two years, the international community has been following with great interests the progress of the investigation into the incident, he said, adding that the council has conducted numerous deliberations with many council members repeatedly calling for “objective, impartial, and professional investigations to establish facts as soon as possible” and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Regrettably, we have not yet reached a definitive conclusion,” he said.
“Two years later, the result is that Sweden and Denmark have announced the termination of their investigations one after another, yet the information they released is scant and lacking details,” said the ambassador, adding that the national investigation of Germany has so far produced no clear conclusion.
He said the public can only obtain information and speculate based on media reports. “Was there a hidden agenda to the initial opposition to an international investigation? Has evidence been covered up and destroyed over the past two years or so? When will the trust and time we have given be rewarded with the truth about what happened?” Geng asked.
The ambassador said China supports the draft presidential statement circulated by Russia on the Nord Stream pipeline explosions and welcomes the changes and adjustments Russia made to the draft in light of the comments of council members.
Terming the draft as presenting facts objectively, reflecting the concerns of all parties, and “generally balanced in its content,” he expressed the hope that all parties will intensify consultations and reach agreement on the draft as soon as possible, so as to send a clear signal to the outside world.
Geng also expressed the hope that Germany will announce the progress and results of the investigation through official channels as soon as possible, and the countries concerned will actively communicate and cooperate with Russia, the main party to the Nord Stream incident, and avoid politicizing the investigations.
“We hope that the council will keep its attention on this matter, refrain from allowing it to fade away, and put an end to double standards,” he concluded. ■