Decision on NATO missile shield postponed

Frigate KNM Roald Amundsen at the dock in Oslo.Frigate KNM Roald Amundsen at the dock in Oslo.Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

The study that will form the basis for Norway’s decision to join NATO’s missile defense has been postponed.

 

The analysis is being carried out by researchers from the Defense Research Institute (FFI), and the Missile Defense Agency in the United States. It should have been ready before the New Year, but has been delayed, reported Klassekampen newspaper.

The reason for the delay is that the calculations are highly advanced and that the math is taking more time than expected,the Ministry of Defense reported to the newspaper. The researchers will be finished “during this year”.

The missile defense, often referred to as ‘the missile shield’, is a sensitive issue in Norwegian foreign policy, and the government is facing a difficult decision. While the Ministry of Defense looks at the missile shield as “a pure defensive capability,” which “increases the alliance’s ability for collective defense,” the Russians look very differently at the matter, said NUPI researcher Julie Wilhelmsen last year.

According to Wilhelmsen, Russia perceives as it Norway becoming more of a hawk than a dove in security policy.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today