Norway on Monday remanded one of its citizens into custody for four weeks, accusing him of providing privileged information to a Russian intelligence officer for a “not insignificant amount of cash.” On Wednesday, Norway expelled the Russian intelligence officer involved.
Russia’s Nord Stream II pipeline into Europe seems to be at the heart of the issue here.
Norway’s Aftenposten newspaper reported that the detained Norwegian, Harsharn Singh Tathgar, is an employee of DNV GL. He was arrested by the PST, the Norwegian Police Security Service, on Saturday after meeting with a Russian intelligence officer at an Oslo pizza restaurant. As I noted in June, DNV GL is a Norweigan energy company involved in Nord Stream II licensing assessments. It’s thus understandable that Tathgar would have access to information of value to Moscow. After all, Vladimir Putin views the completion of the Nord Stream II pipeline as the cornerstone of his energy blackmail strategy for at least the next 25 years. He’s right to do so. If the pipeline is completed, Russia will be able to hold energy supplies to Europe hostage in exchange for the European Union’s acquiescence on Russian foreign policy interests. Unfortunately, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, many European powers support the pipeline, putting the short-term prospect of cheaper energy supplies before their long-term security. The Trump administration is rightly attempting to obstruct the pipeline’s completion.
What is Tathgar believed to have specifically provided to the Russian officer, presumably from the SVR intelligence service?
We don’t know. But online materials make clear that Tathgar was involved in both advanced 3D printing material research and associated licensing requirements. Such knowledge would be valuable to Russian industrial research. At the same time, Tathgar’s access to DNV GL networks would presumably give him access to information on Nord Stream II. Such access would also be highly prized by the SVR, in that any insight would enable the Kremlin to advance its Nord Stream II development activities or anticipate upcoming challenges to those activities.
The Russians aren’t happy with this situation. In an absurdly hypocritical gesture, the Russian ministry of foreign affairs has protested the PST’s temporary detention and search of its intelligence officer as a “violation of diplomatic status.” But of course, the Russian FSB domestic security service does exactly the same thing, and far worse, in its treatment of foreign diplomats on Russian soil. This complaint is just about feigning innocence and outrage in the hope that it will deter Norway from making public what the SVR has been up to.
Ultimately, however, this is just another reminder of the priority with which Putin regards his energy policy. Kamala Harris, take note.
