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Norway to seek NATO guarantees of more help in northern Europe

Xinhua, July 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg will travel to the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw to obtain the Alliance's guarantees of more help in the Norwegian Sea in case of a serious conflict with Russia, local media reported Thursday.

Solberg told daily newspaper VG that NATO must respond to the Russian armaments in the northern areas.

"We do not want militarization of the north. But we must have naval control," Solberg said, "We have a good relationship with Russia, and we do not think that they have any desire to attack us."

Solberg and the country's foreign and defense ministers will participate in the NATO summit in Warsaw on Friday and Saturday, in which the alliance will decide the deployment of one battalion with about 1,000 soldiers each into the three Baltic states and Poland.

The Norwegian prime minister feared that the issue of maritime security in the northern seas will be forgotten as the spotlight has been directed eastwards and southwards, Norway's NTB news agency reported.

"One forgets that it is difficult to secure supply lines if you do not control the seas," Solberg said, "To bring in boats and gear, you must have control of the air and the sea."

Safety at sea and in the north is of particular interest to Norway and "this is something we have bitter experience during World War II," she said. Enditem