Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Wednesday they would be in talks with the NATO chief about involving the alliance in future operations to protect critical underwater infrastructure such as gas pipelines or fiber optic cables.
Store said Norway has already increased vigilance at such sites in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and even more so after the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Store was in the German capital on Wednesday for bilateral talks and participation in the Berlin Security Conference with Scholz.
Store was in Berlin on Wednesday for bilateral talks and participation in the Berlin Security Conference with Scholz. Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/Picture Alliance
“The Chancellor and I have agreed to propose an informal initiative to improve the security of underwater infrastructure – it can be pipelines, fiber optic cables or telecommunications,” Store said at the Berlin Security Conference.
“It really is the blood [the] circulation of a modern economy. And we’ll be speaking to the Secretary General of NATO later today: How can we improve military and civilian and police coordination to achieve this? We want to move it forward. NATO is relevant. How can we work with the private sector? We believe this is the right thing to do.”
Store also discussed the proposal with DW on Wednesday. Some European partners have already offered closer cooperation with Norway. In 2021, Norway was the EU’s second-biggest supplier of natural gas after Russia, but the 27-strong bloc’s Russian gas imports have fallen dramatically in 2022 after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February.
“We have 90 platforms on the shelf out there and we have about 9,000 kilometers of pipelines. But I can assure you that we’re pretty much taking care of it, and we’re now doing the same with our allies. So in addition to Germany, for example, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, we [now] sailing more actively together,” Store told DW.
“Protection of infrastructure is also a NATO matter”
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The proposal to NATO is designed to examine how existing operations can be scaled up and envisage a potential coordinating role for the Alliance.
NATO welcomes idea, further talks on Thursday
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg traveled to Berlin for the conference and will hold further talks with Scholz on Thursday. In a statement emailed to Portal news agency, Stoltenberg said he welcomed the proposal.
“We have stepped up our efforts following the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, and it is vitally important to do even more to ensure our offshore infrastructure remains protected from future acts of destruction,” he said.
Russia denies involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines and has tried to blame Britain, which in turn claims it was not involved.
Scholz: Russia cannot win militarily in Ukraine
Both Scholz and Store condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine at the Berlin Security Conference.
“Russia, I am convinced, cannot and will no longer win this war on the battlefield. The merciless attacks on critical infrastructure, on water and energy lines, on cities and communities, they are a terrible and at the same time desperate scorched earth strategy,” said Scholz.
“Russia must recognize that we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary,” said Scholz, switching to English for the last sentence. “Economic, financial, with humanitarian aid, the reconstruction of destroyed energy infrastructure right now and also with weapons.”
Store, meanwhile, told defense analysts and reporters gathered in the German capital that Russia was “losing the ground war and … hitting back with air terror.” We have to help Ukraine in this situation.”
He said the war must stop, but only one side really has the power to make sure it does.
“I think it was well put: if Russia ends the war, the war ends. If Ukraine ends the war, Ukraine will disappear. And we cannot allow that, and that is why this is crucial for Ukraine, but it is a critical values issue for any free nation in Europe,” Store said. “And Norway is aware of this and we will take up this challenge in the side of Germany.”
Germany seeks nuclear-capable F-35s as part of NATO deterrent
Both leaders alluded to the major shifts in defense spending and policies triggered by the conflict.
Scholz said part of that would be Germany’s largest increase in defense spending.
He said Berlin took the “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” from Moscow “very seriously” but was not “intimidated by it”.
He said Germany’s response was to stick to the red line, never to let nuclear war become a reality. He is pleased that China’s President Xi Jinping agreed on this principle during Scholz’s controversial visit to Beijing earlier this month. He also welcomed the inclusion of a mention of this commitment never to start a nuclear war in the recent G20 summit statement.
“As long as states like Russia have nuclear weapons as part of their arsenal of threats, NATO naturally needs a credible deterrent potential. Anything else would mean making us vulnerable to blackmail,” said Scholz.
“That is why we have decided to acquire F-35 fighter aircraft in the coming years and to continue to make a German contribution to the Alliance’s nuclear capabilities in the future. This is a message for national, European and transatlantic security and a contribution to burden-sharing within the alliance,” said Scholz.
The purchase of the new nuclear-capable F-35s, which German pilots could fly in the event of a nuclear conflict with US nuclear weapons stored in Germany, was a touchy subject for successive German governments, and Scholz’s coalition in particular.
Though Germany isn’t a nuclear power, critics say its ability to supply US warheads makes it one in everything but name. Traditionally, the Greens in particular, but also parts of the Scholzer Social Democrats, are rather lukewarm or even hostile to the idea of so-called nuclear sharing.
Scholz said he wants to finalize the first contracts for F-35s and other defense spending plans like Puma armored personnel carrier retrofits in the coming year.
Norway plans more aid to Ukraine and more extensive energy relief
Norway’s Store said during its trip to Berlin that its coalition government in Oslo will announce a major package of longer-term financial aid to Ukraine as part of its 2023 budget.
He also alluded to the big fossil fuel exporter looking for ways to help less resource-rich European countries cope with soaring prices, fueled in no small part by the Russian invasion.
“It is true that Norway is currently in a favorable position as an energy exporter and therefore it gives us an additional incentive to help Ukraine get through not only this first year, but also the next four or five years,” he said Store: “And the package that we are going to propose to Parliament will essentially consist of support for Ukraine, but there will also be an element of support for those countries outside Ukraine that are now being hit by food prices and energy prices.”
The visiting prime minister also discussed the issue with DW earlier on Wednesday, saying it was a “very fair request to hope for lower energy prices,” saying, “I can tell you it’s not in Norway’s interest that you high and volatile energy have prices in Europe.”
Store also told the audience in Berlin that Norway had become Germany’s single largest supplier since the start of the war as gas imports from Russia had declined.
Edited by: Sean Sinico