03:11UN: 'The thief has a burning hat' - Russia's ambassador after UNSC rejects probe into Nord Stream blasts
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia criticised the Security Council’s decision to reject his country’s calls for an independent inquiry into the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, during a meeting New York City on Monday.
"We, as you know, have a saying: 'The thief has a burning hat'," he said, using a phrase traditionally translated as 'a guilty conscience gives itself away'.
"The United States, as usual, links this resolution with Ukraine, although not a single word about Ukraine was said in resolution a or outside the resolution," Nebenzia continued. "When we raised the issue of an objective international investigation, the tactics of our American European colleagues came down to denying the involvement of the United States on the one hand, and on the other hand, preventing a transparent, impartial explanation of this sabotage."
Three members - Russia, China and Brazil - backed the resolution, while the 12 others abstained. The wording called for a commission to 'conduct 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, organisers and accomplices'.
"At first, Washington publicly, at the highest level, threatened to blow up this gas pipeline," claimed Nebenzia. "Then they expressed joy at the fact that it was blown up. At the same time, a huge amount of speculation and, to put it mildly, contradictory and absurd versions about who could have done this are being dumped in the media."
US Alternate (Deputy) Ambassador Robert Wood stated that his country 'categorically refutes Russia's unfounded allegations'.
"The United States was not involved in any way, period," he said. "Let us be clear on what Russia's draft resolution was and what it was not. It was an attempt to discredit the work of ongoing national investigations and prejudice any conclusions they reached that did not comport to Russia's predetermined and political narrative."
Investigations by Sweden, Germany and Denmark are reportedly still ongoing, with Wood saying that those inquiries should be allowed to proceed in a 'comprehensive, transparent and impartial manner'.
In February, an article by US journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that explosives were planted at the pipelines by US Navy divers on US President Joe Biden’s orders. The White House called it 'utterly false and total fiction'.
In March, the New York Times published a report claiming that US officials had intelligence suggesting a 'pro-Ukrainian group' was behind the Nord Stream pipeline blasts.
Kiev strongly denied any involvement in the explosions at the underwater sites, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that 'clearly the authors of the attack want to divert attention' and called it an 'obvious misinformation campaign co-ordinated by the media'.
"The United States and its allies are trying to cover their tracks. Including, throwing in various kinds of fabrications and delusional versions and refusing to answer facts that are revealed and inconvenient for Washington," Nebenzia alleged at the UNSC meeting.
Back in September, the EU, US, NATO and Moscow all claimed 'sabotage' to be the reason for the incident. President Vladimir Putin said that the West had 'effectively attempted to destroy the pan-European energy infrastructure'.
Western countries avoided directly accusing Moscow although Biden accused Russia of 'pumping out disinformation and lies'.
03:11Mandatory credit: UNTV. NEWS USE ONLY
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia criticised the Security Council’s decision to reject his country’s calls for an independent inquiry into the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, during a meeting New York City on Monday.
"We, as you know, have a saying: 'The thief has a burning hat'," he said, using a phrase traditionally translated as 'a guilty conscience gives itself away'.
"The United States, as usual, links this resolution with Ukraine, although not a single word about Ukraine was said in resolution a or outside the resolution," Nebenzia continued. "When we raised the issue of an objective international investigation, the tactics of our American European colleagues came down to denying the involvement of the United States on the one hand, and on the other hand, preventing a transparent, impartial explanation of this sabotage."
Three members - Russia, China and Brazil - backed the resolution, while the 12 others abstained. The wording called for a commission to 'conduct 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, organisers and accomplices'.
"At first, Washington publicly, at the highest level, threatened to blow up this gas pipeline," claimed Nebenzia. "Then they expressed joy at the fact that it was blown up. At the same time, a huge amount of speculation and, to put it mildly, contradictory and absurd versions about who could have done this are being dumped in the media."
US Alternate (Deputy) Ambassador Robert Wood stated that his country 'categorically refutes Russia's unfounded allegations'.
"The United States was not involved in any way, period," he said. "Let us be clear on what Russia's draft resolution was and what it was not. It was an attempt to discredit the work of ongoing national investigations and prejudice any conclusions they reached that did not comport to Russia's predetermined and political narrative."
Investigations by Sweden, Germany and Denmark are reportedly still ongoing, with Wood saying that those inquiries should be allowed to proceed in a 'comprehensive, transparent and impartial manner'.
In February, an article by US journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that explosives were planted at the pipelines by US Navy divers on US President Joe Biden’s orders. The White House called it 'utterly false and total fiction'.
In March, the New York Times published a report claiming that US officials had intelligence suggesting a 'pro-Ukrainian group' was behind the Nord Stream pipeline blasts.
Kiev strongly denied any involvement in the explosions at the underwater sites, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that 'clearly the authors of the attack want to divert attention' and called it an 'obvious misinformation campaign co-ordinated by the media'.
"The United States and its allies are trying to cover their tracks. Including, throwing in various kinds of fabrications and delusional versions and refusing to answer facts that are revealed and inconvenient for Washington," Nebenzia alleged at the UNSC meeting.
Back in September, the EU, US, NATO and Moscow all claimed 'sabotage' to be the reason for the incident. President Vladimir Putin said that the West had 'effectively attempted to destroy the pan-European energy infrastructure'.
Western countries avoided directly accusing Moscow although Biden accused Russia of 'pumping out disinformation and lies'.