Russia wanted NATO data in the Baltic Sea
According to the findings of members of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament, Russia is alleged to have attempted to obtain secret NATO data in the Baltic Sea via the approval process for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. Parliamentarians from various parliamentary groups unanimously reported this on Friday following a witness hearing in the committee of inquiry into the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Climate Foundation.
The climate foundation was largely financed by Nord Stream 2, which is why aspects of its construction are also being investigated. A former head of division at the Federal Office of Infrastructure, Environmental Protection and Armed Forces Services was questioned on Friday.
CDU MP Sebastian Ehlers then reported that the Stralsund Mining Authority, as the approval authority, had asked the Bundeswehr for coordinates of the NATO submarine diving areas in the region on behalf of Nord Stream 2. René Domke, who took part on behalf of the FDP, reported the same and expressed his surprise that such information should be passed on: "Mind you, to a project sponsor based in Switzerland and owned by the Russian state-owned company Gazprom." According to reports, very coarsened data was provided.
The Green Party chairman of the committee of inquiry, Hannes Damm, was nevertheless shocked: The actions of the mining authority towards the Russian state-owned company Gazprom had "endangered the security of the Federal Republic and Nato". FDP member Domke stated that he had the impression "that the security concerns of the Bundeswehr and NATO had been dealt with at least naively, if not alarmingly". The state government and authorities in MV would have to face further unpleasant questions on this point. AfD MP Michael Meister described the incident as a "clumsy and amateurish attempt at espionage".
The climate foundation was established at the beginning of 2021 following a decision by the state parliament to enable the completion of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline bypassing the threat of US sanctions, which was successful. The special committee initiated by the opposition is to clarify, among other things, the extent of the influence of the Russian donors on the then SPD/CDU state government when the foundation was established. Nord Stream 2, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom, was the largest donor to the Climate Protection Foundation MV with 20 million euros. Nord Stream 2 did not go into operation as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The parliamentarians expressed concern that Russia's attempts to obtain NATO data could potentially compromise the defense of the Federal Republic and NATO. In light of the defense concerns, it was surprising that the Stralsund Mining Authority shared submarine coordinates with Nord Stream 2, a project largely funded by the Russian state-owned company Gazprom.
Source: www.dpa.com
