Norway initiates military cooperation with Sweden and Denmark
Norway will sign an agreement on military cooperation with Sweden and Denmark on Friday, Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen (H) has stated.
“The vision with the agreement is that we should be prepared to act together in peacetime, and if a conflict arises,” he said.
Bakke-Jensen has said that the collaboration is based on developing the operational collaboration, including information exchange and joint planning work.
“This makes the security policy picture more secure. It is both a good deterrent and has a significant security effect that the analysis of the security situation is the same in all the Nordic countries,” said Bakke-Jensen.
Russian concern
Sweden’s Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist has said that Russian military exercises affect security in the Nordic countries, including in Øresund and the North Sea.
“It does, of course. Russia is ready to use military force to achieve its goals and intentions,” he said according to TV4, and called the cooperation necessary.
Hultqvist said that it has been necessary to initiate closer operational cooperation with neighboring countries for a long time to increase military capacity in all three countries. The agreement includes joint military exercises. The three countries have also done this before.
Addition to NATO
Norway has previously entered into a military cooperation agreement with Sweden and Finland, where the Northern Cape is defined as the area in which they cooperate. It has given Norway a link to Sweden, which is not itself a NATO member, but a partner, and to the EU’s defense cooperation, of which Norway is not a part, but of which Sweden is a part.
In the agreement with Denmark, southern Scandinavia, and the Kattegat, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea are at the center. Bakke-Jensen maintains that NATO is the most important alliance for Norway but says the agreements with Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are an important supplement.
“In NATO, we have a large plan for the defense of the member countries. The value of cooperating with Sweden, Finland, and Denmark is that we can adapt our plans to the areas we have in common,” he said.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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