The United Kingdom and Norway signed a cooperation agreement on Thursday to expand their defenses against submarine attacks in the North Atlantic and the Baltic states.and protecting energy infrastructure on the seafloor such as the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which were damaged in September in an alleged sabotage.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and his Norwegian counterpart Bjorn Arild Gram signed a Memorandum of Understanding during a joint visit to the Naval Operations Center at Northwood Military Base (England).
“We are expanding our joint capabilities to protect the West’s critical national seabed infrastructureWallace said at a news conference.
He added that “the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline led to closer cooperation (…) to detect and defend submarine threats and maintain the security of the North Atlantic.”
Four leaks were discovered in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in Septemberthat connects Russia with Germany across the Baltic Sea.
The pipeline was not operating at the time due to disagreements between Moscow and European capitals in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, but it was full of natural gas.
“It is important that democracies like the UK and Norway stick together at a time when the order based on international law is under pressure,” Gramm said.
The Nord Stream vandalism last year is a tangible reminder of what’s at stake. Working together, we can improve our ability to detect submarines, counter potential mines, and protect critical infrastructure on the sea floor,” said the Norwegian minister.
On May 11, Norway assumed the rotating presidency of the Arctic Council until 2025 with a commitment to reinvigorate its work. But without lifting Russia’s isolation imposed last year by the rest of the members as a result of the military invasion of Ukraine.
“Our goal is for the Arctic Council to resume its important work during the Norwegian presidency. We will explore with other member states how this can be achieved in practice. Political contact with Russia is not possible, but we will remain predictable in our dealings with Russia,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Annika Huitfeldt said in a statement.
Formal council meetings were suspended in February 2022, though projects that did not involve direct Russian involvement resumed in June. Countries – Canada, Denmark, the United States, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – They said they would not send representatives to council meetings in Russia – the largest Arctic country in the world – although they remain convinced of the value of cooperation in the Arctic.
Norway precisely took over the presidency from Russia in a digital meeting held between representatives of the eight countries that make up it – all NATO members except Russia and Sweden, whose accession to the alliance was approved last June and awaiting its formalization – and six organizations of indigenous peoples in the Arctic .
(with information from EFE)
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