Norway to strengthen military presence in Finnmark near the Russian border

New measures in the border region

Norway plans to strengthen its military presence in Finnmark, the region bordering Russia. This is stated in a press release on the kingdom's Ministry of Defence website: sensors for NASAMS air defense missile systems will be deployed in the region, and the garrison in the municipality of Sør-Varanger will be reinforced with 'just over 30 soldiers.' The troops will serve in the garrison's ranger battalion and will be sent to the municipality by the end of the current year.

Context: the call to Putin

The reinforcement was announced a few days after the October 27 phone call in which Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb called Russian President Vladimir Putin. The call took place ahead of the resumption of talks on Ukraine in the Moscow–Washington–Kyiv format; the parties discussed prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Afterwards Støre said the call was an attempt to convey Europe's point of view to the Russian leader, but he admitted that he does not expect the Russian president to reconsider his position after the conversation. Earlier, the prime minister also spoke about Ukraine losing territories.