Norwegian Foreign Minister says plans to strengthen military presence on the border with Russia

Norway is going to strengthen its military presence in Finnmark, which borders Russia. This was announced by the country's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on January 29.

"Now the NATO line is to protect every inch of the territory. After we need to strengthen the presence in Finnmark, so we are now creating a brigade," he said in an interview with the VG newspaper.

Eide also clarified that he could not give new comments on Norway's revision of the ban on military activity close to the border with Russia. At the same time, he pointed to the naturalness of considering the changes "within the framework of the principles of security and deterrence."

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Nikolai Patrushev, Russian presidential aide and chairman of the Maritime Board, said on December 18, 2024 that tensions in the Arctic region are increasing due to NATO's actions. According to him, the military activity of NATO member countries in the Arctic contributes to the growth of conflict potential in the region.

Before that, on December 2, Russian Ambassador to Norway Nikolai Korchunov said that the intensification of NATO's military activity in the Arctic is fraught with risks of dangerous incidents and escalation. According to him, the risks of dangerous incidents and escalation are fraught with the lack of effective confidence-building measures and military communication channels.

On November 30, an amphibious operations center appeared in the northern part of Norway. It was specified that this was done as part of "another step by NATO to strengthen its operations on the border with Russia in the Arctic".