After decades of self-imposed restrictions on NATO military training in its northernmost county bordering on Russia, the Norwegian government announced on Friday that it’s “adjusting its guidelines.” That will enable more cross-border training with new NATO members Sweden and Finland, and other NATO allies.
Defense Minister Tore Sandvik called it a “natural development” after Sweden and Finland joined NATO. It’s also a sign of the times, though, after Russia launched its war on Ukraine three years ago and is now viewed as a much more aggressive neighbour.
Norway opted against hosting any NATO exercises in its northern county of Finnmark when it became a founding member of NATO in 1949, in order to avoid provoking Russian leaders. The former Soviet Union already had its own naval base and, later, nuclear weapons based not far away on the Kola Peninsula, east of the Norwegian border.
Norway’s decision will now allow military air operations, NATO port calls and land operations in Finnmark. Sandvik claimed, though, that “we remain a predictable and responsible neighbour, committed to preserving stability and low tension in the High North.”
Read more about the change, and the history behind it on the Barents Observer, based in Kirkenes and close to the Russian border itself.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
