A Moscow proposal to hold an international inquiry into last year’s destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline, which had brought Russian natural gas to Northern Europe, failed to pass at the UN Security Council (UNSC).
In a March 27 vote, only Russia, China, and Brazil voted in favor of the draft resolution, while the remaining 12 council members abstained.
Resolutions need a minimum of nine votes out of 15 to be adopted by the Security Council. They are also subject to potential veto by any of the council’s five permanent members: the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China.
Speaking to reporters after the vote, Moscow’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya described the outcome as “expected.” Nevertheless, he added, “it reveals a few things.”
According to the diplomat, Moscow seeks an independent probe of the Nord Stream incident “because those being conducted by Sweden, Denmark, and Germany don’t meet the requirements of an objective investigation.”
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood disparaged the Russian proposal, which he said sought to “discredit the work of ongoing national investigations and prejudice any conclusions … that do not comport with Russia’s predetermined and political narrative.”
Unanswered Questions
Late last September, the Nord Stream pipeline was breached in Swedish and Danish waters, resulting in severe energy shortfalls and fueling inflation across Europe.Running under the Baltic Sea, the 760-mile pipeline links Russian gas fields to German energy terminals. The Nord Stream pipeline is majority-owned by Gazprom, Russia’s largest energy company.
World capitals soon concluded that the breaches had been caused by a deliberate act of sabotage. Nevertheless, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark abruptly halted joint investigations, citing concerns over “national security.”
Moscow called the breach a “terrorist act” and claimed to have evidence, which it never disclosed, of Western complicity. Since then it has repeatedly called for an international probe into the incident.
Germany, Sweden, and Denmark have since resumed separate investigations, but these have yet to yield any conclusive results.
Last month, veteran U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh shocked many observers when he published a report on the Substack platform suggesting U.S. culpability in the attack.
Citing an anonymous source Hersh claimed the Biden administration had given the green light for the attack, which he asserted was carried out by U.S. Navy divers and Norwegian specialists.
To further support his theory Hersh cited Biden’s assertion early last year that he would “bring an end” to the pipeline if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russia Criticizes ‘Red Herring’
But the story didn’t end there.On March 7, the New York Times ran an article claiming that “new intelligence” suggested the attack had been carried out by a rogue “pro-Ukrainian group.”
Citing unnamed U.S. officials to support its claims the article ruled out any involvement in—or knowledge of—the attack by Kyiv.
Shortly afterward, the German press reported that investigations had found that a six-person team, including divers, had used a rented yacht to carry out the attack.
Russian officials, for their part, blasted the new media narrative, which they described as a “red herring.”
Andrey Ledenev, minister-counselor at Russia’s embassy in Washington, claimed the reports in the U.S. and German press were meant to “divert blame from the statesmen who ordered and coordinated the attack.”
This assertion was echoed by Hersh, who published a follow-up story on March 22.
According to the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the “pro-Ukrainian group” scenario was a “cover story” cooked up by “certain elements in the CIA” and German intelligence.
The story, Hersh claimed, was meant to provide the U.S. and German press with “an alternative version” of how the pipeline was sabotaged.
He also noted that the dubious press reports had emerged after a tightly choreographed visit to Washington by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
US Rejects Involvement
In any case, Washington remains adamant that the United States had nothing to do with the incident.After Russia’s UNSC proposal was voted down, Wood said: “The United States was not involved in any way. Period.”
According to an NSC spokesman, German, Swedish, and Danish investigators must be allowed to finish their work before any conclusions can be drawn.
Officials in Moscow, for their part, have vowed to keep pressing the issue at the UNSC and other international forums.
“Russia will continue to push for the implementation of measures necessary to identify the culprits,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on March 28.
