The Russian Embassy in Norway urged Stoltenberg to take up the economy

The arguments of Norwegian Finance Minister and former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about Russian defense spending are surprising given how Oslo plans to double its own spending by 2036. This was announced to Izvestia on April 20 at the Russian Embassy in Oslo.

The diplomatic mission noted that due to the annual record revenues from arms supplies to conflict zones, Norway is increasingly perceived not as the birthplace of the Nobel Peace Prize, but as a major arms exporter. The country's Finance ministry even froze the work of its ethics council in order not to restrict it from profiting from the conflict in the Middle East.

"The Norwegian Finance Minister, who is known in Europe as a consistent supporter of the thesis 'weapons are the way to peace' and suddenly became concerned about the state of the Russian economy, would like to take a closer look at what is happening in his native country," the diplomats said.

The Russian Embassy in Norway said that perhaps the former NATO Secretary General should take up his immediate duties in his post, instead of "dressing up in a mentor's toga" and telling how things are in Russia, where the cost of diesel fuel is twice as low as in Norway.

It is noted that Stoltenberg's statements about the Russian economy may indicate an attempt to interfere in internal affairs or use the platform of international institutions for their own selfish purposes.

Jens Stoltenberg's "touching" concern about the state of the Russian military-industrial complex and the economy raises many questions, unless it hides a maniacal desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Arguments about the "price" of other people's decisions sound paradoxical coming from the mouth of a man who, with his short—sighted steps, destroyed the European security system," the Russian Embassy in Oslo noted.

The Russian Embassy in Norway also pointed out that the former NATO Secretary General, who was also chairman of the Russia—NATO Council, had engaged in direct dialogue with Russia a number of times during his 10 years in office, and the last time was in January 2022, after more than three years of complete downtime. The diplomats added that if he had treated the area more responsibly, there might not be a subject for conversation now.

The ministry stressed that ordinary Europeans have to reap the benefits of its "successful" policy, primarily from NATO member countries, whose budget for military purposes does not spend up to 2% of GDP, as before, but up to 5%. Active militarization, of course, has to be paid for by reducing spending in other sectors of the economy and putting social spending, pensions, financing of healthcare, education, infrastructure projects and international development assistance under the knife.

According to international institutions, whose spring meeting Stoltenberg attended in Washington, the economies of Russia and Norway are growing in the same range — about 1% per year. At the same time, in 2023-2025, the Russian economy grew by 3.6%, 4.1% and 1%, while the Norwegian economy showed more modest figures: 0.1% in 2023, 2.1% in 2024, 1.2% in 2025.

The Russian diplomatic mission pointed out that Norway, which has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund and has earned hundreds of billions of additional income from Russia's withdrawal from the European energy market, tacitly fixes the slowdown as a new norm.

"The only difference is that Russia, under unprecedented pressure from all kinds of illegitimate sanctions, has maintained macroeconomic stability for more than four years, and its currency in 2025, according to relevant Western financial experts, was recognized as the most stable and profitable in the world," the Russian diplomatic mission in Norway concluded.

Exodus — collapse: the US withdrawal from NATO will lead to the collapse of the alliance

Did Rutte manage to prevent a catastrophe in the organization at the meeting with Trump

On April 15, Stoltenberg expressed the opinion that the existence of a military alliance is not a "law of nature," and no one can guarantee that the bloc will survive the next 10 years. He also noted that during his first term, US President Donald Trump predicted the US withdrawal from NATO, but so far these threats have not materialized.

On April 1, the American leader announced that he was seriously considering the US withdrawal from NATO after the alliance refused to help in the conflict with Iran. According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance has never influenced him. Trump called the participants paper tigers.