“We do not see specific direct military threat to Norway from Russia”, says Norway’s defense minister

“We do not see specific direct military threat to Norway from Russia”, says Norway’s defense minister

Bjorn Arild Gram, Norwegian Defense Minister, asserted on Sunday that he does not see any direct threat to Norway coming from Russia, despite the current events in Ukraine.

Bjorn Arild Gram said interaction between Norway and Russia has changed since the onset of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. “That said, we’ve retained some communication channels, we are cooperating on fishery and are working together on sea rescue. We have also been maintaining interaction between our militaries although less actively”.

Bjorn Arild Gram added that “at some point, everything should normalize. Yet it may happen that everything will be different than before because this situation also has long-term consequences”.
Bjorn Arild Gram noted that Norway has increased its military spending and put its intelligence on alert in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis. “However, we do not see a specific direct military threat to Norway itself. This is a serious situation, we should be ready”.