2024-02-10T08:24:38+00:00
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/ Norwegian Defense Minister Björn Arild Gram called on his country to increase military spending, fearing the risk of a possible war with Russia within one to three years, fearing a Russian retaliatory attack in response to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
The British newspaper The Telegraph quoted Gramm as saying: We need to prepare a strong national defense, in order to be able to confront an uncertain and unpredictable world, adding: Moscow is working to increase its weapons stockpile at an accelerating pace, and greater than the NATO allies expect.
Finland applied for NATO membership on May 18, 2022, three months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the country officially joined the alliance at the end of the same year, while Sweden is still waiting to become a member as well.
In contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of problems that might arise after Finland, which shares more than 1,300 kilometers of land border with Russia, joins NATO.
Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, in response to Ukraine’s application to join NATO, which Russia considers a threat to its internal security.