From gas to eye: is there any chance for an international investigation into the explosions of the joint venture

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Germany continues its investigation into the explosions at Nord Stream and cannot make predictions about the timing of its completion, Izvestia was told in the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office. Despite this, the opposition in the Bundestag will demand the creation of a special commission to study the circumstances of the incident. Russia, in turn, calls on other countries to collectively search for answers. After the publication of an American journalist who called the United States responsible for the explosions, the Russian Federation convened a meeting of the UN Security Council on February 22. The interviewed experts, however, are convinced that there will be no practical result of the UN meeting, since Washington and London have the right of veto.

Interstate issue

At a meeting on February 16, the State Duma of the Russian Federation called on the UN Security Council to investigate the explosion of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The decision to contact the organization was made after the publication of an article by American journalist Seymour Hersh, who blamed Washington for the incident. The deputies are convinced that this US crime “should be the reason for a thorough international investigation, punishment of those responsible and compensation for the damage caused.” State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, in turn, allowed the recovery of damages from foreign companies located in Russia.

Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko

Recall, on February 8, American journalist Seymour Hersh published on the Substack platform, an investigation into the explosions at Nord Stream. According to him, the explosives under the gas pipeline in June 2022 were planted by American divers under the cover of NATO exercises Baltops22. Norway agreed to help in the operation, according to the journalist. According to him, on September 26, 2022, on the orders of the administration of US President Joe Biden, a Norwegian Navy Orion P8 reconnaissance aircraft dropped a sonar buoy, the signal from which spread underwater first to Nord Stream 2, then to Nord Stream 1. This signal activated the explosives.

The fact that the Russian Federation is convening a meeting of the UN Security Council on sabotage on pipelines on February 22 was announced on February 15 by Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN. The meeting is scheduled for 15:00 New York time (23:00 Moscow time). By the way, at the same time, a special session of the General Assembly on the situation in Ukraine will resume its work, at which it is planned to pass a resolution that does not take into account the interests of the Russian Federation.

Note, the official representative of the Secretary General of the world organization Stephane Dujarric previously reported that the UN does not have a mandate to investigate the explosion of pipelines. According to him, a certain mandate from the legal body of the organization will be required.

Photo: REUTERS/Danish Defense Command

– At least, one should not expect any decisions on initiating an investigation from the UN Security Council. It is clear that the veto-wielding US and UK will block any resolution. The main point of this appeal is rather that the Russian position could be heard by other members of the organization. But this will not lead to practical results, ”Oleg Barabanov, program director of the Valdai Club, told Izvestia.

In the State Duma, by the way, they emphasize that the main goal of the appeal to the UN is to be heard.

– We are dealing with an interstate issue, because the project was the property of companies from several European countries. So it is extremely important to talk about this at the UN. We must force an international investigation with the participation of the Russian side,” Igor Ananskikh, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, told Izvestiya.

Help “Izvestia”On the night of September 26, a leak occurred on one of the lines of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This happened in the Danish exclusive economic zone southeast of the island of Bornholm. Also, gas leaks were recorded from both threads of the Nord Stream northeast of Bornholm. The Investigation Department of the FSB of Russia opened a criminal case on the commission of an act of international terrorism. Denmark, Sweden and Germany have launched their own investigations, to which specialists from the Russian Federation are not allowed.

Did Biden tell you about this?

However, the American side denies all accusations.

– Any hints about the involvement of the United States in the explosions at Nord Stream are ridiculous and absolutely false, they are fiction. The United States was not involved in anything,” Izvestia was told at the American embassy in Moscow. — In addition, it is important to note that at that time natural gas was not pumped through these pipes to Europe: Nord Stream 2 was never put into operation, and SP-1 was stopped a few weeks earlier, since the Russian government uses energy as a weapon.

Photo: TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov

At the same time, the diplomatic mission stressed that Washington will continue to work with its allies and partners to sort out what happened. On February 16, the head of the press service of the State Department, Ned Price, emphasized that the United States had nothing to do with the bombing of the Nord Stream and was ready to declare this at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

The representative of the cabinet of ministers of Germany, Christiane Hofmann, said on February 10 that the government does not have data confirming the conclusions of the American publicist. At the same time, she added that “all responsible authorities have been very carefully investigating this incident since its commission, including the Prosecutor General of Germany.”

By the way, in an interview with Berliner Zeitung Seymour Hersh hinted that Chancellor Olaf Scholz might have been aware of the US plans. On February 7, Joe Biden was just meeting with the German Chancellor. Then the American president stressed: if Russia “invades” the territory of Ukraine, then there will be no Nord Stream 2. At that time, the withdrawal of certification in Germany of the already completed gas pipeline was implied.

Hersh claims that at the meeting with the German Chancellor, the head of the White House did not have a ready plan to undermine Nord Stream, but there was an understanding that they could do it. “One question I would like to ask Scholz: Did Joe Biden tell you about this? Did he tell you then why he was so sure that he could destroy the pipeline?” Seymour Hersh shared in an interview. The journalist believes that Biden was afraid of Germany’s possible refusal of sanctions against Russia against the background of the unfortunate state of affairs in Ukraine for the West, and therefore came to the decision to arrange a diversion.

US President Joe Biden (right) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) at a press conference, Washington

Photo: Global Look Press/Leigh Vogel

Help “Izvestia”Seymour Hersh is a well-known American journalist, in 1969 he published an article about the massacre organized by the American military in Son My in Vietnam, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. In the 1970s he wrote about the Watergate scandal, and in 2004 about the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. At one time, Hersh noted that the editors gave his materials excessive skepticism. By the way, in 2015, the Washington Post published a column in which the journalist was accused of abusing anonymous sources.

In the responsible departments of Germany, Izvestia was told that the investigation was still ongoing.

– In response to your request, I can only inform you that the investigation is ongoing. Since it is not possible for me at this time to make predictions about the completion of the investigation, I cannot make any statements about the possible publication of the results. I hope for understanding in connection with the fact that we do not give any assessments in this matter, – Izvestia was told in the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Germany.

When asked if the German side was ready to join the international investigation, the department did not provide a comment. From the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection of Germany, there was also no response. The German opposition believes that the German government deliberately remains silent.

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p class=”a”>- An international investigation could help confirm the already convincing evidence of an American journalist. However, the German government remains silent and postpones the investigation, because it already knows the culprit. So even if they agree to participate in an international investigation, they will definitely not contribute to its start,” Steffen Kotre, a member of the parliamentary committee on energy and climate protection from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Izvestia.

Photo: RIA Novosti / Nikolay Filiakov

He explained that his party sent a request to the federal government, but did not receive a detailed comment, as it was allegedly a “national security” issue. According to the deputy, the AfD will demand the creation of a special commission to study the incident. “But it needs 25% of the vote [в бундестаге]”, he added.

The press service of the Copenhagen police told Izvestia that they currently have no comments on the circumstances of the gas leak in the Baltic Sea. The press service of SÄPO (Swedish State Security Service) only reminded: in November 2022, they found that the explosions at Nord Stream were “serious sabotage”. The Swedish side then found the remains of explosives at the scene of the incident.

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