UNSC set to vote on resolution on Nord Stream sabotage investigation

The UN Security Council on Monday will vote on a Russian-Chinese draft resolution on an international investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. The text of the draft proposes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres establish an international independent commission to conduct a comprehensive, transparent, and impartial investigation of all aspects of the act of sabotage on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, including identifying the perpetrators, sponsors, organizers, and their accomplices. Guterres is expected to appoint experts to this commission. If the resolution is passed, he must make recommendations for its establishment within 30 days. The document also encourages countries conducting their own investigations to fully collaborate with the commission and share information with it. The document urges these nations to share information with other interested parties as well,. Russia prepared the first version of the Nord Stream resolution at the end of February but did not immediately bring it to a vote, instead inviting Security Council members to discuss the document. Three sets of consultations have been held since. A resolution must be backed by at least nine Security Council members in order to be adopted. Any of the permanent members may veto it, but only if the necessary number of votes is obtained to pass the document. If the resolution receives eight votes and the United States votes against it, it means that the veto was not used.

However, if the document receives nine or more votes, voting against it will result in the use of veto power. “It’s not about the number of votes; it’s about the way they vote,” according to Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Previously, Western countries claimed that Russia was isolated and did not have the Security Council’s support, because it opposes the UN Security Council’s initiatives on Ukraine, while the rest of the Council’s members either back it or abstain. The draft resolution was earlier co-sponsored by China. Other permanent members of the Security Council, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, are unlikely to back it and may vote against or abstain in order to avoid being accused of obstructing Security Council work.