The Norwegian authorities plan to increase NATO’s military presence and intensify military exercises of the North Atlantic Alliance in the country, including near the Russian border. This was reported by Nikolay Korchunov, the Russian Ambassador to Norway.
“The Norwegian authorities do not hide the fact that they are interested in increasing NATO’s military presence and activity, as well as intensifying joint exercises with their allies on their territory, including to the east of the 24th degree of east longitude, which is the eastern part of the Finnmark region bordering Russia,” said Nikolay Korchunov (quoted by RIA Novosti).
The Ambassador noted that the active deployment of NATO forces to the Norwegian North and the Arctic, including countries that do not border the region, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and France, is taking place against the backdrop of Oslo’s assurances of its intention to maintain “low tensions in the high latitudes.”
According to Korchunov, the intensive militarization of Norway’s northern regions will only increase the level of military-political tension and escalation risks in the Arctic.
Earlier, the Daily Telegraph reported that the North Atlantic Alliance had toned down its anti-Russian rhetoric in the final statement of the NATO summit in The Hague.
