Germany and Norway have asked Nato to lead an alliance to protect critical underwater infrastructure, their leaders said on Wednesday, weeks after explosions hit two key gas pipelines in the fallout from the war in Ukraine.
"We are in the process of asking the Nato Secretary General [Jens Stoltenberg] to set up a co-ordination office for the protection of underwater infrastructure," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Berlin.
"We take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously and nobody should believe that attacks will remain without consequences."
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said the alliance would be "an informal initiative to exchange between civilian and also military actors", with Nato providing "a centre, a co-ordination point".
Underwater cables and pipelines were "arteries of the modern economy" and it was necessary to create "a co-ordinated joint effort to ensure security for this infrastructure", Mr Store said.
Mr Stoltenberg, who is in Berlin for a security conference, welcomed the joint proposal later on Wednesday.
A look at the Nato military alliance - in pictures
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A solemn welcoming ceremony of US soldiers at Adazi military base, Latvia, on February 25, 2022. More than 300 soldiers of the 173rd Air Force Brigade arrived to demonstrate the US commitment to defend Nato allies and strengthen Latvia's defence capabilities following Russia's military operation in Ukraine. EPA -
US paratroopers in Ukraine's western Lviv region during a Nato-sponsored training exercise in 2020. AP -
A US military aircraft takes off at the US Air Base Ramstein, in Landstuhl, Germany, on February 25. US President Joe Biden February 24 authorised the deployment of further armed forces to Germany as part of Nato's response to Russia's military aggression on Ukraine. EPA -
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on February 25. EPA -
A convoy of British armoured vehicles of the Royal Welsh Battlegroup on the way to Estonia, driving through Liepupe, Latvia, on February 25. British troops and equipment are heading to Estonia as part of the UK's contribution to strengthen Nato's uplift to Eastern Europe. EPA -
Protesters outside a Nato leaders virtual summit in Brussels on February 25. AP -
A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender aircraft over Poland on February 24. US Air Force/Reuters -
US military personnel check an Apache attack helicopter AH-64 during a technical stop on the tarmac at Traian Vuia International Airport in Timisoara, Romania, on February 24. EPA -
German soldiers of the Nato enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania attend a ceremony during a visit of German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht to Rukla Military Base, Lithuania, on February 22. EPA
"Nato has been working for many years to secure our undersea infrastructure," Mr Stoltenberg said.
"We have stepped up our efforts after the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, and it is vital to do even more to ensure that our offshore infrastructure remains safe from future destructive acts."
The pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, had been at the centre of tension as Moscow cut gas supplies to Europe in retaliation to western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
New underwater footage shows Nord Stream pipeline damage - video
Although they were not in operation when the leaks occurred, they both still contained gas that bubbled up through the water and into the atmosphere.
Russia and western countries, particularly the US, have traded bitter barbs over who was responsible for the blasts.
Several European countries have since taken steps to increase security around critical infrastructure.
The G7 interior ministers warned in November at a meeting in Germany that the Nord Stream explosions had highlighted "the need to better protect our critical infrastructure".
