Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow will take NATO’s increased presence in Norway into account in its military planning.
In a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Ine Eriksen Soereide, the top Russian diplomat said Russia is “witnessing with concern NATO’s increasing presence on Norwegian territory.”
“This refers to the process of upgrading airports to meet the needs of the alliance, as well as naval ports to accept US nuclear submarines. Several hundred US troops are already stationed there, and British forces also plan to join them, as far as I know. Of course, we must take this into consideration while working on our military planning,” Lavrov added.
The minister added that Russia is doing “the absolute minimum of what it should in order to feel secure.”
Lavrov’s statement comes amid the latest steps taken by Norway to boost its defense budget to meet NATO’s spending target of 2% of GDP.
Source: Sputnik
