Aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sep 27, 2022 shows the gas leak from Nord Stream in the Baltic Sea. Photo:Xinhua

China urges an objective, impartial and professional investigation into the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline, which has been called the energy lifeline of Europe, Wang Wenbing, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a press conference on Monday.

Wang said that the explosion had a significant negative impact on the global energy market and the global ecological environment, and had even sent Europe into a winter energy crisis. Given the harm of damaging major transnational infrastructure and the serious consequences, the international community has the right to demand a thorough investigation.

On September 26, 2022, two Russian underwater pipelines carrying natural gas to Europe, the Nord Stream I and II, exploded on the same day under the Baltic Sea, causing large amounts of gas to leak into the nearby sea.

After the explosion, the US, the EU, NATO and Russia all said the blast was caused by sabotage. Moreover, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that the Nord Stream gas pipeline had suffered an unprecedented international terrorist attack in a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A shocking report by US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh was released on February 8, accusing the US of being the culprit behind the blasts, once again igniting international public debate.

John Dougan, another American journalist who provided evidence of American involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Streams in the Baltic Sea, told Russian media outlet Sputnik that he received an anonymous letter from a participant in NATO's BALTOPS 22 exercises, during which explosives were allegedly planted on Russian gas pipelines.

"This was not an easy operation to carry out. It's the kind of operation that the CIA and other covert parts of the US government do carry out rather routinely, and the US was basically the only country with the motive, the means," said Jeffery Sachs,a world-renowned economist, professor of Public Policy at Columbia University and former Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General.

What is puzzling is the US government, media, and European partners' collective silence. All these unusual actions reinforce the belief that the Nord Stream bombing was extremely complicated, Wang noted.

It is necessary to carry out an objective, fair and professional investigation into the explosions and probe the relevant responsibilities, so as to give an answer to the international community over the explosion of major transnational infrastructure, the spokesperson stressed.

Global Times