Norway’schief of defence has warnedRussiacould target the country to protect nuclear assets stationed in the north of the country near the border. Gen Eirik Kristoffersen said: "We don’t exclude a land grab from Russia as part of their plan to protect their own nuclear capabilities, which is the only thing they have left that actually threatens the United States."
Despite sayingRussiadoes not have conquest goals in Norway in the same way as it has inUkraineor other former Soviet territories, Mr Kristoffersen said Russia’s nuclear arsenal is based on the Kola peninsula, a short distance from the Norwegian border, including nuclear submarines, land-based missiles and nuclear-capable aircraft. We don’t take that off the table, because it’s still an option for Russia to do that in order to make sure that their nuclear capabilities, their second strike capabilities are protected. That’s sort of the scenario in the high north that we plan for," he toldThe Guardian.
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Mr Kristoffersen was also sharply critical of recent comments byDonald Trumpon Greenland, as well as of the US president’s"unacceptable" claimsthat allied countries had not served in frontline positions in Afghanistan, while US troops had done the bulk of the fighting.
"It didn’t make sense what he said, and I know that all my American friends fromAfghanistanknow that," said Mr Kristoffersen, 56, a career army officer who served several tours in Afghanistan.
"We were definitely on the frontline. We did the full spectrum of missions, from arresting Taliban leaders to training Afghans to doing surveillance.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
