Germany and Norway want NATO to protect submarine infrastructure after attack on Nord Stream Reuters writes | Daily News Byte

Andreas Rinke and Matthias Williams

BERLIN (Reuters) – The leaders of Germany and Norway said on Wednesday they would jointly ask NATO to coordinate the protection of Europe’s undersea infrastructure in light of suspected attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline network.

European countries have stepped up vigilance around critical installations after the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia and Germany, ruptured in September and spewed gas into the Baltic Sea.

The incident has become a focal point of the energy conflict between the West and Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Russia denies sabotaging the pipelines and has tried to blame Britain for the incident. London has denied involvement.

Investigators found traces of explosives at the scene and suspect that the pipeline was deliberately blown up.

Standing next to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stoere at a briefing, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said NATO involvement would send a signal to the outside world.

“We take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously, and no one should think that attacks will go without consequences,” he said.

“Pipelines, telephone cables, internet connections are lifelines for our countries and must be specially protected,” he said.

Norway played a key role in bringing gas to Europe after Russia cut exports. Scholz said Norway now supplies about half of Germany’s needs.

Norway is producing gas at full capacity and will continue to do so in the coming years, Stoere said. “We have a special responsibility to ensure safe gas supplies to Europe, which is crucial to maintain,” Stoere said.

In an emailed statement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed the proposal by Germany and Norway.

“We have stepped up our efforts following the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and it is vital that we do even more to ensure that our coastal infrastructure remains safe from future destructive acts,” he said.

Speaking at the Berlin security conference on Wednesday night, Scholz also said Germany wants to use its 100 billion euro special defense fund this year to buy F35 fighter jets and retrofit Puma infantry fighting vehicles.

He added that Russia can no longer win the war in Ukraine on the battlefield.

Foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the transatlantic military alliance established after World War II, met in Bucharest on Wednesday and gave assurances of support to Russia’s neighbors.

The focus of the meeting was on the Western Balkan region, especially Bosnia, and two former Soviet republics, Moldova and Georgia, both of which have breakaway regions occupied by Russian troops.