“Shocked by unpunished sabotage”: Lavrov called for an honest investigation into the explosions at Nord Stream

Moscow insists on an honest investigation into the explosions at Nord Stream with the participation of Russia and other interested parties, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a G20 meeting.

“We are shocked by the unpunished sabotage against the main gas pipelines of the Nord Stream in the zone of responsibility of NATO and the EU.

We insist on a fair and prompt investigation of this act of terrorism involving Russia and other interested parties,” he said.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that German Ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geyr publicly avoids answering who is behind the sabotage at Nord Stream.

“And now what prevented the same Ambassador von Geyr from unequivocally assessing the terrorist attack, committed, by the way, in the zone of responsibility of the military bloc responsible for security, which includes his country?

This time he seized on the investigation as an excuse to avoid an uncomfortable conversation about the obvious, ”wrote Zakharova on Telegram.

According to her, from the side of the German ambassador to the Russian Federation, on the situation around the undermining of gas pipelines, "after half a year - silence."

The diplomat also noted that von Geyr not only “publicly avoids answering,” but also forgets to mention that Russia was never allowed to participate in the investigation.

Recall that von Geyr, answering a question about the reasons for the “hushing up” of the sabotage at Nord Stream, said in an interview with RBC that the investigations related to this incident have not yet been completed.

He recalled that Denmark, Germany and Sweden are allegedly working to "bring complete clarity on what happened and why."

At the same time, the German ambassador called deliberate actions against the Nord Streams unacceptable and stressed that this caused Germany "deep concern."

Meanwhile, the Spanish parliamentarian EP Manu Pineda sent an inquiry to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in which he asked about the measures taken in the EU to investigate explosions on gas pipelines.

The deputy notes that the Nord Stream terrorist attack is not the first time that the Biden administration, with the support of one of the Nordic countries, “uses trusting relations with the EU and NATO membership to carry out actions that are contrary to European interests.”

“Was there or is there a request to the United States in order to obtain clarification about their alleged role in this attack (on gas pipelines. - 

)?”

the parliamentarian asked the head of EU diplomacy.

"Never Recognizes"

Pulitzer Prize winner Hersh published an investigation into the blowing up of gas pipelines in early February.

Among other things, it spoke about the decision of US President Joe Biden to take such a step under the guise of NATO exercises BALTOPS 22 and with the support of the Norwegian Navy.

Subsequently, in an exclusive interview with RT, the journalist clarified a number of details.

In particular, he pointed out that the White House is not only not interested in investigating "this story, but they are not even going to refute it."

“No one recognizes anything and, in my opinion, they never will, because of what it threatens,” Hersh emphasized.

According to him, the goal of the head of the White House was to prevent Germany and Western Europe from "opening the pipeline as a whole" in the event of an early onset of cold weather.

The journalist recalled that the German authorities imposed sanctions, stopped one pipeline, "but had the right to open a new one, which Biden did not want."

Now, because of the terrorist attacks on both Nord Streams, Europe should be afraid of the next winter, Hersh believes.

• American journalist Seymour Hersh

• © Paul Sakuma

“I must say that I have no idea if anyone died from the cold this winter due to gas pipeline explosions and the loss of an energy supply channel.

In fact, Europe should be afraid of the next winter.

Between the blowing up of pipelines in late September and the beginning of this winter, she still managed to replenish fuel supplies.

But with regard to next winter, there really is something to fear, ”he said.

Hersh also believes that the population of Europe, in particular Germany, is more concerned about this problem than the Americans.

From Hersh's point of view, the essence of the operation to undermine the gas pipelines was as follows: "Make sure that Europe, in particular Western Europe, continues to support NATO and supply weapons, fueling the proxy war against Russia that is being waged right now."

It is worth noting that after the publication of Hersh's investigation on the leading role of the United States in the terrorist attack on Nord Stream, Moscow requested a meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the situation around gas pipelines.

During the event, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that the investigations initiated by Germany, Denmark and Sweden were "not just non-transparent" but aimed solely at "covering the tracks and shielding the older American brother."

Nebenzia also said that the Russian Federation had submitted a draft UN Security Council resolution instructing the Secretary General to conduct an independent international investigation into the terrorist attacks on Nord Stream.

During the meeting of the UN Security Council, the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the UN, Zhang Jun, supported this idea, as well as the draft resolution of Russia.

A few days later, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in an interview with RIA Novosti that the UN should provide a mechanism to investigate what happened on the pipelines.

The diplomat stressed that this is the first incident when such a large object of Europe's critical infrastructure has been attacked, and it should be regarded as a terrorist attack.

Later, on March 2, the G20 countries condemned terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure, including in the energy sector, as reported in the summary of the G20 chairman following the meeting.

However, the authors of the document refrained from mentioning the state of emergency at Nord Stream. 

"Unable to say no"

According to experts, despite Russia's proposal to initiate an international investigation and support in this matter from China and Hungary, Germany, which suffered the most from the undermining of the Nord Stream, deliberately remains silent about the role of Washington in the incident for geopolitical reasons.

“The vassal position in relation to the United States does not allow Berlin to talk about who is behind the explosions on gas pipelines.

Germany's foreign policy is completely in the wake of Washington, so German diplomats have practically no room for maneuver.

Moreover, neither Scholz nor other top German politicians are able to say “no” to Washington and report that this senior partner carried out a terrorist act on a global scale, ”said a senior researcher at the Center for Comparative and Political Studies at IMEMO RAS in an interview with RT Alexander Kamkin.

At the same time, according to him, after the revelations of Hersh, which were not refuted in the United States by any evidence base, it became even more obvious for the world community that it was the Americans who were behind this sabotage.

• Nord Stream infrastructure in the vicinity of the city of Lubmin

• AP

• © Alexey Vitvitsky

“This is the main part of the plan for the economic bleeding of Europe and its positioning as a region completely dependent on the United States in energy and economy.

The rejection of Russian natural gas brought down the economy of a number of industries in Germany and, accordingly, promoted American LNG to the European market, completely changing both world logistics and the structure of world trade.

Germany was one of the worst losers.

Technologically advanced businesses are now trying to escape Europe for the US.

There is a creeping deindustrialization and impoverishment of the population,” says Kamkin.

Moreover, according to him, in Berlin they understand all this very well.

“The German authorities, guided by geopolitical motives, continue their destructive policy for the country.

Against this background, we can expect an increase in anti-American sentiment in Germany, ”the analyst is sure.

Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, also speaks about the exclusively political background of Berlin's silence regarding Washington's role in the Nord Stream terrorist attacks.

“Germany did not pay due attention to the Hersh investigation and still insists that some kind of investigation is ongoing.

Thus, it damages its own reputation and no longer looks like a reliable partner in the international arena.

Both Chancellor Scholz and his entourage, in fact, represent the American lobby, serving primarily the interests of the United States.

Of course, all this leads Germany to a dead end.

After all, Russia and Germany built equal relations, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

Olenchenko does not rule out that the organizers and perpetrators of this terrorist act may be named in the course of proceedings on explosions on gas pipelines.

“And this should be done not so much for the triumph of justice, but in order to prevent the possible repetition of such actions against other objects,” he explained.

However, any attempt by Russia to objectively understand what happened on the gas pipelines will be hindered by the United States and its allies involved in this action, Olenchenko is sure.

“Moscow will be put a spoke in the wheel by supporters of Washington, including Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Paris and London, but this does not mean that the topic will be closed.

In addition to Russia, other countries, including China, are interested in clarifying the situation, ”the analyst concluded.