NATO nation says it will not host nukes

Norway nevertheless relies on the military bloc’s nuclear deterrence for security,its prime minister has said

Norway will not host nuclear weapons on its territory, as it bases its security on NATO strategic deterrence, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has said. Sweden’s and Denmark’s top defense officials have said their nations would be open to such a deployment, however.

During a press conference alongside the prime ministers of other Nordic states and Canada in Oslo on Sunday, Store was asked about opening discussions on loosening rules on nuclear weapons.

“We are not changing legislation. We don’t have to. We have our clear policy. There will be no stationing of nuclear weapons in Norway,” he said.

He added that Oslo is open to potential strategic cooperation talks with Paris, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s offer to deploy nuclear weapons on other NATO nations’ territory.

However, any new initiative should not “weaken” the bloc’s existing nuclear policy, Store said.

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Earlier this month, Macron gave a keynote speech on Paris’ new nuclear strategy, in which he said the country would increase its arsenal and outlined the “temporary deployment” of France’s strategic nuclear bombers in allied NATO nations.

Just days later, the Finnish government said it would seek legislative changes to allow nuclear weapons to be hosted on its territory.

Moscow has condemned that step, warning it will lead to “an escalation of tensions on the European continent.”

Should Finland threaten Russia by deploying nuclear weapons on its territory, Moscow will “take appropriate measures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

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Helsinki has since repeatedly downplayed the decision, stressing that Finland does not want to host nuclear weapons and that NATO has no plans for such a deployment.

The moves come amid a resurgence of European discussions on strategic deterrence, following the lapse of the last nuclear arms control treaty binding Russia and the US, which possess the largest arsenals in the world by a large margin.

Moscow maintains that it does not threaten European nations but will aim its nuclear arsenal at any country that hosts nuclear weapons trained on Russia.