Fair probe into Nord Stream blasts sought

China's envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday called for an objective, fair and professional investigation into the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions one year ago.

Since the incident, several members of the United Nations Security Council, including China, have repeatedly called for an investigation to ascertain the truth as soon as possible, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told a Security Council briefing on the issue.

"Regrettably, there is still no clear and authoritative conclusion on this matter so far," he added.

One year has passed since the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to European markets underneath the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark.

Geng said the explosions affected the safety of transnational infrastructure and will have a negative impact on global energy supply, maritime ecological environment, and shipping safety.

One year after the explosions, investigations by Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, which excluded Russia, are still dragging on, yielding no substantive results, Geng said.

"The longer the delay, the more difficult it will be to collect evidence and find out the truth, the more doubts and speculations will occur, and the less credible the results of the investigations will be," Geng said.

"China hopes that the relevant countries will increase their sense of urgency, actively respond to the concerns of the international community, take a responsible attitude toward regional security and development, announce the progress of the investigation in a timely manner, and ensure that the investigation results are objective, fair, authoritative and can withstand the test of history," he said.

In a joint letter to the UN Security Council in February, the three countries said that "investigations have yet to be concluded, and at this juncture, it remains uncertain when they will be completed". Since then, there have been no significant developments.

"China calls on relevant countries to actively communicate and cooperate with Russia instead of simply rejecting it," Geng said. "Any attempt to politicize the investigation will only cast doubts and lead to more speculation."