The leaders of the two countries announced on the 27th of May that Norway will join France in developing a nuclear deterrence strategy that involves closer cooperation between Paris and other European countries, writes Politico.
Norway, which has traditionally been a close ally of the United States, joining the initiative marks another example of how European countries are reshaping their security strategies at a time when Russia is waging aggression in Ukraine and concerns have grown about the credibility of the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told reporters in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron that Norway, along with nine other European countries, will participate in an initiative related to the involvement of France’s nuclear arsenal in European defense and resilience building. Støre pointed out that a significant part of Russia’s nuclear arsenal is located in the north, just a few kilometers from the Norwegian border, but added that Norway will continue to rely primarily on NATO for security matters.
Macron announced on the 2nd of March that Germany, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden had agreed with France to discuss cooperation in the field of nuclear defense.
This would include joint nuclear exercises, information sharing
and also the possible temporary deployment of French Rafale fighter jets in the territories of allied countries.
Two anonymous officials told Politico that confidential talks have since begun with some of the countries involved to discuss the scope of the cooperation.
On the 27th of May, Paris and Oslo also signed a broad bilateral cooperation agreement on security and defense, known as the Narvik Agreement. It includes a clause on mutual assistance, the establishment of a broader dialogue between the armed forces of the two countries and cooperation in the areas of air defense, space and Arctic security. In the past couple of years, Macron has sought to strengthen defense cooperation with the Nordic countries.
Støre told the Norwegian news agency NTB on the 27th of May that this was done taking into account the security situation in Europe, including Russia’s armament and its aggression in one of the European countries. He added that there are no plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Norway in peacetime.
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