Germany resumes investigation into Nord Stream incident

Germany is investigating an incident on two branches of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Geng Shuang called for an international investigation into the gas pipeline explosions under the auspices of the United Nations at a meeting of the UN Security Council on April 26, RBC reports.

“The investigation is underway by the federal prosecutor general,” the German Federal Foreign Office said in response to the question about Beijing’s initiative.

In September 2022, leaks were discovered in three of the four gas lines east of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Seismic institutes had recorded large underwater explosions just before.

Soon after, Swedish prosecutors said that traces of explosives had been found on several objects recovered from the site and stated that the explosions had been due to "gross sabotage".

The pipelines were built by Russia's gas giant Gazprom. Nord Stream 1 was operational from 2011 to 2022. Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021, but never used because Germany halted the project days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.