China sees ‘silence’ over Nord Stream explosion as ‘bewildering’

Expressing surprise over the "silence" of "relevant countries," China on Monday called for "revealing" the facts about the Nord Stream explosion "as soon as possible."

"The Nord Stream pipeline explosion has been nearly a year since it occurred, but the investigation progress seems to be very slow," said Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry.

"Those countries that claim to be open and transparent have remained almost silent on the Nord Stream case, which is bewildering," Wang said, seeking results of the probe "as soon as possible."

Last September, underwater explosions targeted the Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which delivered Russian natural gas to Germany and the European region through the Baltic Sea.

Moscow accuses the West, particularly the US, of being directly involved in the blasts. It called for a UN-led international investigation into the likely sabotage, but the request was rejected.

US media reports have suggested that Washington was aware of a Ukrainian plot to blow up the gas pipelines, but Kyiv has denied any involvement.

"Protecting the security of critical infrastructure is a common concern of the international community," Wang said, according to the Beijing-based daily Global Times.

"We hope that the relevant countries will respond actively to the doubts and concerns raised by the international community with a responsible attitude towards the truth, and reveal the facts to the world as soon as possible," he said, adding China supports an "objective, fair, and professional investigation into the incident."