Norway's spy chief sees Russia more likely to attempt sabotage
Norwegian Intelligence Service boss sees risk level higher
Putin government calls sabotage accusations scaremongering
Norway fears its oil and gas facilities may be targeted
Updates Sept. 10 story with comment from the Russian embassy in Oslo in paragraphs 4-5
By Nerijus Adomaitis
STAVANGER, Norway, Sept 11 (Reuters) -The head of Norway's foreign intelligence service believes Russia has become more likely to try to sabotage its infrastructure, such as oil and gas, than a year ago as Moscow becomes bolder in countering Western support for Ukraine.
"The risk level has changed," Vice Admiral Nils Andreas Stensoenes, head of the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS), told Reuters.
"We believe sabotage is more likely, and we see acts of sabotage happening in Europe now which indicate that they (the Russians) have moved a bit on that scale."
Russia rejects such accusations as Western scaremongering. Its embassy in Oslo said Stensoenes' statements were "made out of thin air".
"(They) are used to justify the West's chosen course of confrontation with Russia and the corresponding military preparations, including in Norway," it said in a statement to Reuters.
Earlier this year, Norway's intelligence agencies assessed that Russia "may find it prudent" to conduct acts of sabotage, with petroleum the prime target, while last year they judged that unlikely.
Norway is Europe's largest gas provider and a major crude oil exporter.
Stensoenes, whose agency is responsible for collecting intelligence abroad and supporting Norway's military, did not offer specifics about Russian threats in a brief interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in the city of Stavanger.
But he said President Vladimir Putin's nation had become "more or less a pariah state" for the West, meaning it had little to lose with more risky steps, though it would be careful not to trigger the NATO alliance's collective defence clause.
HUGE UNDERSEA INFRASTRUCTURE
After the Nord Stream pipelines sabotage in September 2022, Norway deployed its navy to protect its North Sea oil and gas platforms, with support from NATO allies.
Still, the Norwegian undersea infrastructure is so vast, consisting of gas pipelines stretching some 9,000 km (5,590 miles), it is difficult to protect. Norway also has more than 90 offshore oil and gas fields.
Moscow has repeatedly complained that Germany, in charge of the Nord Stream investigation, has not been doing enough to probe the explosions, which ruptured two pipelines built to carry Russian gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea.
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts which occurred seven months after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Moscow says it is not responsible for the blasts.
German prosecutors last month said they had issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diving instructor in Poland in connection with the attacks. Kyiv has denied involvement.
Security services say Norway energy industry faces Russia threats nL8N3KD165
Energy asset security vital for Norway due to Europe's dependence, intelligence chief says nL5N3EX2MI
Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Gwladys Fouche, Andrew Cawthorne and Mark Potter
Asset collegati
Ultime news
Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.
Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.
Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.