The Russian military is now spending 10 billion EUR on improvements. Støre says to Norwegian news channel NRK that the Norwegian government of course will monitor the Russian military efforts closely, but he cannot see that this in any way changes the good relations between Norway and Russia. Because of the 15 years of close cooperation between the neighboring countries, Støre see no military threat in the east like during the cold war period.
The Foreign Minister does question the enormous increase in military spending, what it means and where it will be used. However, this does not in any way push forward a need for increasing Norwegian military spending, says støre
The Government which Støre is a member of is criticized by the opposition for cutting budgets for the Norwegian military. In Støre’s opninon the current Norwegian government has contributed to reorganize the Norwegian armed forces into a modern structure.
– We have Europe’s most modern navy and we have signed a contract on new fighter jets, is Støre’s respond to the critics.
