Norwegian FM reveals when Ukraine will get security commitments
Photo: Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Getty Images)
Norway will begin providing Ukraine with security guarantees as soon as a ceasefire regime is achieved, says Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide at a press briefing.
Responding to a question from an RBC-Ukraine journalist, Barth confirmed that Norway is ready to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.
“The answer is yes, we will provide security guarantees as soon as a ceasefire is achieved, because after that, Ukraine will have long-term peace, and we will contribute to that,” Barth said.
The Norwegian foreign minister noted that there are still details that need to be discussed within Ukraine as well.
“We know that this is important for Ukraine. And it is an important message to Russia that it must understand that peace after a ceasefire will last — economic, military, political,” he added.
Joint missile production
The Norwegian foreign minister also spoke about the joint work of Ukraine and Norway on missiles for NASAMS systems.
“We are working intensively to ensure more missiles already now — this is an urgent need. We are developing the partnership I mentioned between very capable Ukrainian defense manufacturers to integrate their interceptors or other means of destruction into the NASAMS system,” Barth added.
This will make it possible to have cheaper but mass-produced and effective types of weapons, since the problem is that the typical missiles used today are expensive.
“More types of missiles are needed that can be used, for example, as part of NASAMS, and there are very promising developments in this direction. There is both an immediate need and a medium-term one, and we are actively working on both,” the Norwegian diplomat summarized.
Norway’s military assistance to Ukraine
In December, it was reported that Norway would finance a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth 3.2 billion kroner ($315 million). It will include weapons and ammunition for F-16 fighter jets, as well as missiles for air defense.
Earlier, Norway also allocated an additional 500 million euros to purchase American weapons for Ukraine through the PURL program. Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada have joined the program.
