Military drills target Nord Stream

HELSINKI, Finland, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Russian military exercises planned for the Baltic region appear to be centered on protecting the future Nord Stream gas pipeline, analysts say.

Russia delivers 80 percent of its natural gas to its European customers through transit routes in Ukraine. Lingering economic disputes between Kiev and Moscow, however, sparked a push to diversify regional energy networks.

Moscow is pushing for its Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany as part of its diversification effort. Nord Stream is planned as a dual pipeline along the bed of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.

Russian military exercises, dubbed Ladoga and Zapad, near the Baltic Sea appear focused on the protection of regional oil and gas installations.

Ladoga in particular is aimed at securing Nord Stream, notes a review of Finnish news outlets by Barents Observer.

Docent Alpo Juntunen with the Finnish National Defense University told the Finnish-language Helsingin Sanomat the Nord Stream military exercise has raised the hackles of key officials.

"The Swedes are clearly nervous about the pipeline issue, as they reduced their defense preparedness in the Baltic Sea after the collapse of the Soviet Union," he said. "Now it seems the Russians are coming back, and that makes them uneasy."

Apart from political concerns, littoral states in the Baltic Sea are concerned over the environmental impact of pipeline construction, which is complicated by World War II munitions strewn along the seabed.