China urges impartial, professional probes

Beijing has said that it is necessary to conduct objective, impartial and professional investigations into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines and hold those responsible to account.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remarks on Thursday in response to a call from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for foreign media to look into the details of the explosions, which were disclosed by US journalist Seymour Hersh.

Referring to the pipelines as vital cross-border infrastructure projects, Wang said the explosions have had a serious negative impact on the global energy market and the environment, while also sparking concerns from the international community about the security of major cross-border infrastructure.

Wang said that immediately after the explosions, a spate of news reporting by US and other Western media was almost overwhelmingly devoted to one-sided speculations on the alleged perpetrator. When the latest report based on the detailed investigations by Hersh was published, those media outlets boasting freedom, professionalism and fairness, were collectively silent, he added.

"Do these Western media really not care about the truth behind the Nord Stream blast? Or is something else going on? What exactly do they know? Is there anything they are trying to hide? I suppose any truly objective, impartial and professional media would want to find the truth," Wang said.

Xinhua