President,

I thank Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča for his briefing.

The explosions of the Nord Stream pipelines constitute a serious incident of sabotage against transnational energy infrastructure, causing a negative impact on the global energy supplies, the marine environment, and the safety and security of maritime navigation. Since the explosions happened, the Council has deliberated on this matter several times. Many Council members, including China, have repeatedly called for objective, impartial, and professional investigations to promptly establish facts and bring perpetrators to justice, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Council members have engaged in discussions on whether to have international or national investigations. Back then, some in the Council argued strongly in favor of giving Sweden, Denmark, and Germany time to conduct their respective national investigations. 

However, three years have passed, and here we are still waiting to see definitive conclusions and the complete truth surrounding the explosions. Sweden and Denmark have already announced dthe etermination of the national investigations without sharing any substantive information. While the German investigations are still ongoing, only very limited information has been made public officially. For a long time, the public could only rely on media exposure to obtain information and speculate on what had happened. This is anything but normal. China has taken note of reports about the recent arrest of a suspect, as well as the joint letter thereon addressed to the Council from Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. This, however, does not suffice as a response to the doubts and concerns of the international community. We expect Germany to expedite its investigations and judicial proceedings and promptly publish the progress and results via official channels. We hope relevant countries can communicate and cooperate with the main parties to the incident. We hope the Council will remain seized of the matter. 

To conclude, I wish to reiterate that truth should not be swept under the rug, investigations should not be politicized, similar incidents should not be allowed to recur, and the perpetrators should not walk free unpunished by law. On the explosions of the North Stream pipelines, the international community, rightfully, demands a truthful answer. 

Thank you, President.