Don’t Let Nord Stream Leaks Precipitate Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Global Times Editorial

By Global Times

Sep 29, 2022 12:21 AM

A picture released by the Danish Defence Command shows the gas leak at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm, Denmark on September 27, 2022. The two Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe have been hit by unexplained leaks, raising suspicions of sabotage. Photo: AFP

A total of three leaks have been detected on Russia's Nord Stream pipelines, which transport natural gas to Europe, on the same day, and were accompanied by "powerful underwater explosions," thus widely considered to be a "deliberate act.'' One obvious result is that Europe's hope of receiving Russian gas through the Nord Stream pipelines this winter has completely vanished into thin air. The already complicated and intertwined knot between Russia and the West has also been made more difficult by this "accident."

Analysts generally believe that this is a special manifestation of the destructive spillover effect of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Who did it? No one claimed responsibility. There have been various speculations on international social media, but all have no credible evidence, which, however, has further escalated tensions among all parties concerned and increased mutual strategic suspicion among major powers, causing more problems under the secondary disaster.

In any case, the attack on major transnational infrastructure for civilian use is very odious in nature. It has also created a dangerous precedent since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Such a trend cannot be indulged. Both the European Union and Russia have demanded that relevant agencies conduct a comprehensive investigation and publicize the findings. Since the incident occurred within the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden, at the moment, Germany, Denmark and Sweden are investigating on the cause of the accident. However, as this incident involves many countries, it is necessary to ask relevant international bodies to set up a joint investigation team so as to restore the truth, find out the perpetrators and make them punished accordingly as soon as possible. The incident should be prevented from becoming a Rashomon-style one. 

Although the truth is unknown for now, one thing is certain: No matter which side pressed the button to damage the Nord Stream pipelines, it has dealt a heavy blow to Russia-Europe energy cooperation. The EU made great efforts to stabilize energy prices previously, but the Nord Stream leaks are likely to offset these all. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell issued a statement on Wednesday saying that "any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure is utterly unacceptable." As the "coldest winter'' has followed the "summer of discontent,'' a larger wave of corporate bankruptcies and economic recession have come to the door of Europe.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines would be "in no-one's interest." But why have incidents that are "in no-one's interest" happened again and again? This deserves serious consideration by the international community.

The ill-fated destiny of Nord Stream 2 pipeline itself explains quite a few issues. The major, mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation program between Russia and the EU, has met firm opposition from the US since day one. From repeated verbal threats to many rounds of sanctions, the US has shown its firm stance - it won't stop until it messes up the Nord Stream 2. 

After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Nord Stream 2, a cooperation project that is actually beneficial to European people's livelihood, was on the verge of bankruptcy under the multiple pressure of hegemonism, geopolitical calculations, and security dilemmas. This deliberate sabotage has snuffed out the possibility of its revival. 

It is not difficult to feel that there is an invisible scissors cutting the ties of interests between Russia and Europe. Those who control the scissors are playing politics. When the ties of interests are cut off, Russia and Europe will be left with a tragic confrontation, and the lives of a large number of ordinary people will turn out to be the biggest victim.

The Nord Stream incident again shows that the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not limited to the military battlefield, but has spilt over to energy, economy, food, and even public opinion warfare. The Bucha incident in April this year cast a heavy shadow on the truce negotiation, which was at a critical moment. Now, the pipeline accident has once again compressed the room for parties involved in the conflict to reach a political settlement. 

More worryingly, no one knows whether the planning of the next Bucha incident or Nord Stream incident is already underway. This uncertainty will be the sword of Damocles hanging over Europe and even the entire world. 

For the moment, what all parties should do is to weave a safety net as possible as they can to make the conflict reach a soft landing as soon as possible. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Wednesday that Russia is ready to consider requests from EU countries for a joint investigation into recent incidents on the Nord Stream offshore gas pipelines, if there are requests from European countries. 

If Russia and European countries can cooperate in accident investigation, even if such cooperation is extremely limited, it will be a green olive branch in the black storm, which will help ease the confrontation and avoid the spiral of contradictions.

It also needs to be pointed out that, from the Bucha incident to the North Stream incident, war and chaos are the main culprit behind all these tragedies. It is hoped that the sound of the explosion on the North Stream pipelines can awaken more people to join in the pursuit of peace, so as to turn the North Stream incident into an opportunity to stop the war and promote peace, rather than a fuse that worsens the situation.