China expresses regret after UNSC rejected Nord Stream inquiry

On Tuesday, China expressed regret after the United Nations Security Council rejected Russia's resolution on Monday which called for an independent inquiry into last year's sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

"We have noted that the UNSC failed to agree on the draft resolution presented by Russia, which offers a meaningful option toward the search for truth," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday.

Three UNSC members, namely Russia, China and Brazil, voted yes for the resolution, while the remaining 12 members abstained from voting.

The resolution, if adopted, would have requested the UN Secretary-General to establish an international, independent investigation commission to conduct a comprehensive, transparent and impartial international investigation of all aspects of the act of sabotage on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines — including identification of its perpetrators, sponsors, organizers and accomplices.

Mao said China noted that quite a few members of the UNSC have condemned in their statements the act of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines and some others called for speeding up the investigation and urged for more transparency.

"This highlights concerns regarding the security of transnational infrastructure, thus it is of crucial importance to carry out a thorough, impartial, transparent and independent international investigation," Mao said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

The spokeswoman said, given that the US is so enthusiastic about conducting so-called investigations on developing countries, why it has been hesitating to do so this time regarding an incident that seriously threatens international peace and security.

"It is playing double standards. What is the US afraid of? We expect early progress from relevant investigations so that the world could know what truly happened and hold those responsible accountable," she said.