West Applied Huge Pressure Ahead of UNSC Vote on Nord Stream Probe Resolution, Polyanskiy Says

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik), Lenka White - Western countries as usual exerted major pressure on UN Security Council members ahead of the vote on the Russian-drafted resolution calling for a UN-led probe of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy told Sputnik.

On Monday, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a Russia-drafted resolution asking for a UN-led investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines. China, Russia and Brazil voted in favor of the resolution and all the other members abstained.

"There was, as usual, big pressure from the part of our western ex-partners," Polyanskiy said. "They were making it absolutely clear that they are not interested in the voice that would uphold rational position."

But Polyanskiy told Sputnik that the pressure from the UNSC was a positive sign because it shows that there is a desire to see a swift and transparent investigation into the Nord Stream sabotage.

"I think that many members who were speaking they made their position absolutely clear in the explanation of the votes, which was that they are in favor of transparent and I'd say swift investigation, so there were a lot of signals to the authorities of Denmark, Sweden and Germany to finish this investigation, to brief the Council about concrete results," Polyanskiy said on Monday. "So there is kind of a pressure from this part of the members of the council who abstained, but still they upheld the necessity of moving forward so more swiftly and clarifying a lot of details. I think that's also a positive result from our vote."

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who in a series of articles claimed the United States was behind the Nord Stream blasts, told Sputnik that he was not surprised the UN Security Council did not adopt the resolution.

In September 2022, underwater blasts occurred at three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually.