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In their letter to the council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany reiterated that acts of sabotage against the pipelines were “unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern”.
Concerns about the indirect effects on greenhouse gas emissions are “substantial and worrisome”, the letter said.
The Russian draft resolution expressed serious concern at the “devastating consequences to the environment” from the acts of sabotage, which also “pose a threat to international peace and security”.
The attack is estimated to have released 778 million cubic metres of methane – the biggest burst of the potent greenhouse gas on record, raising new fears of the effect on the climate emergency.
In Germany, the federal prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation to establish if a crime of sabotage under section 88 of the criminal code was committed.
The Russian draft asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently establish an independent international investigation of the sabotage to identify “its perpetrators, sponsors, organisers and accomplices”.
Pipeline operator Russia and other interested parties have been barred from national investigations into the matter, it said.
Russia alleges the US was behind the attack and it occurred after ‘repeated threats’ by American leaders.
