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(Bloomberg) — NATO must avoid any retrenchment along the flanks of the military bloc to maintain credible deterrence against Russian aggression at the time when the US is focused on the war in the Middle East, according to the Norwegian defense minister.
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The visibility of Norway’s defense forces in the Arctic and elsewhere in its neighborhood is critical, Tore O. Sandvik said in an interview in Oslo on Friday, highlighting that the fossil-fuel-rich nation supplies almost 40% of Europe’s natural gas as the Iran war is disrupting global energy supplies.
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“Now it’s more important than ever that we are present here when the Americans have their attention elsewhere,” Sandvik said. “We, our maritime capabilities, must hold the reins here, and that is also emphasized across NATO.”
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Sandvik spoke after US President Donald Trump earlier this week stepped up calls for other nations, especially European allies, to aid the US in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. European leaders have declined to provide military help, saying the focus should be on handling the war’s financial fallout. Trump has since said he needs no assistance.
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Norway is one of the members of the NATO alliance that shares a border with Russia. While the Nordic nation has boosted bilateral defense ties with the UK, Germany and France, it has also sought to play up its importance for US security in monitoring Russia’s nuclear-armed Northern Fleet near its frontier.
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Military cooperation with the US “is very good now,” even as the superpower “has become a more unpredictable partner in NATO,” Sandvik said.
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“It’s not a NATO war that is ongoing in the Middle East,” he said, echoing earlier comments by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and many other European leaders. He also said there’s “no evidence that China or Russia will get involved in the Middle East.”
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Sandvik rejected local media reports that Norway is considering scaling down its planned purchase of five frigates under its £10 billion ($13.3 billion) deal with the UK, due to the overall increase in rearmament cost. Norway will buy “five to six” frigates, he said.
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The British vessels are specifically designed to detect, track down and combat Russian submarines, one of Norway’s and NATO’s top priorities in the Arctic.
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