Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik has said that the current situation in the alliance is difficult because of Greenland, but allies should remember that the common enemy is Russia, writes Reuters.
NATO has been shaken by US President Donald Trump’s efforts to acquire the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland by any means necessary. Trump is expected to repeat his demands, including when speaking at the economic forum in Davos. Sandvik, meeting with foreign journalists in Oslo, said that Russia remains the greatest threat to the West, NATO and all NATO member states. The minister stressed that these are demanding times and the situation in the alliance is difficult.
NATO member Norway borders Russia in the Arctic and has long called on the alliance to pay more attention to the polar regions and the challenges posed there by the Russian army.
Norwegian intelligence is monitoring the Kola Peninsula, where about a third of Russia’s nuclear arsenal is located,
and six of Russia’s 12 nuclear submarines are stationed there, near Murmansk. The only way for Russian Northern Fleet vessels to reach the North Atlantic is between the Norwegian coast and the Svalbard archipelago.
Sandvik noted that the Russians have been increasing their presence in the Arctic for years, for example by increasing the size of the Northern Fleet – even though the war in Ukraine requires large resources. At the same time, Oslo does not currently see any immediate threat, because Moscow is busy fighting in Ukraine, and there is no increased threat to Svalbard.
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