Germany and Norway called on NATO to form a center to protect Europe’s maritime infrastructure, after the explosions in the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday evening: “We are in the process of asking the Secretary-General of NATO to establish a coordination office for the protection of maritime infrastructure,” according to the “France 24” website.
He added, “We take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously, and no one should think that attacks will continue without consequences,” referring to the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September.
For his part, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Store said that the center to be established will be “an informal initiative for communication between civilian and military actors.”
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He explained that cables and water pipelines are “the arteries of the modern economy, and it is necessary to form a joint and coordinated effort to ensure the security of this infrastructure,” according to the site.
And at the end of last September, explosions and gas leaks were detected under the sea at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, as Russia and the United States exchanged accusations and suggestions that the other side was behind them, although the investigations have not yet been completed.