By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Moscow will not let national investigations into last year's explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines “off the hook,” the Russian foreign minister said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference with his Nicaraguan counterpart Denis Moncada in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov said Russia is aware of "the West's ability to lie" and "chronic inability to negotiate."
Lavrov said Western countries in the UN Security Council acted in a certain way and an “impartial” investigation into Nord Stream was not approved.
“Indeed, it was an interesting, instructive and informative spectacle of how Western countries got out, dodged at a meeting of the (UN) Security Council just to not approve the instruction to the secretary-general to organize an impartial, objective, transparent investigation into the obvious terrorist attacks that were carried out against the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Everyone understands that these were terrorist attacks," he said.
German, Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating the undersea explosions that sparked leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September.
Russia called for an international UN-led inquiry into the sabotage and to identify who was to blame, but the request was not supported by the Security Council.
Only Russia, China, and Brazil voted in favor of the draft resolution while the remaining 12 council members abstained.
At least nine votes in favor are needed to pass a draft resolution in the 15-member body.
On talks with Moncada, Lavrov said they reaffirmed their intention to deepen economic cooperation and build up trade relations.
He added that both countries want to further develop cooperation in the space sector, noting that the Glonass satellite station in Nicaragua has been operating for several years.
Lavrov said Moscow has good relations with the Central American Integration System, an economic and political organization of Central American states, adding that Russia will soon receive observer status in the organization.