The head of the Norwegian government noted that his country sees the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border.Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store / photo REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expression of Moscow’s political views through an “extraordinary” build-up of military forces is a “sign of weakness.”

This was stated by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in an interview with The Associated Press .

He explained that he considers this a sign of weakness, because issues that are important to the people should be discussed at the negotiating table, and not through such military demonstrations.

According to the head of the Norwegian government, Putin’s demands for guarantees, including regarding the non-expansion of NATO , is a consequence of the loss of channels of communication and dialogue after the end of the Cold War.

“Thus, more hostility and destructive relations have arisen between countries that need interaction,” Støre said.

The Prime Minister of Norway noted that his country sees a build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, including because part of the Russian Northern Fleet sails along the Norwegian coast.

Speaking of Putin’s “game plan,” Støre said he “wants us to guess.”

The Prime Minister of Norway stressed that Europe in the 21st century does not solve political issues by a separate nation, and the guessing game of Russians indicates that “we must be firm, predictable and principled.”

According to Støre, despite the fact that Ukraine is not a member of NATO and is not covered by the Alliance’s norm on collective defense, “Europe and the West must be very clear that if the border of a modern state is violated in Europe these days, there will be consequences “.

As UNIAN reported, on December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a draft agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on “security guarantees” and a draft agreement on measures to ensure the security of Russia and NATO member states. In particular, Russia offers NATO to refuse to accept Ukraine into the Alliance, as well as “from any military activity on the territory of Ukraine.” The Russian Federation also offers the United States not to create military bases on the territory of the countries of the former USSR and not to accept these countries into NATO.

In this regard, on January 10, 2022, a dialogue on strategic stability between the United States and the Russian Federation was held in Geneva.

On January 12, 2022, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council was held in Brussels , at which security issues in Europe were discussed. After the meeting, NATO member countries called on the Russian Federation to immediately reduce tension in Ukraine and refrain from aggressive deployment of troops, and also called on Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine, including from Crimea. In addition, NATO member countries at a meeting with the Russian Federation confirmed the “open door” policy regarding the admission of new members. Also, all member countries stated that they would not refuse to deploy troops on the eastern borders of the Alliance.

On January 18, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the Russian Federation could attack Ukraine at any moment .

On January 19, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky urged to remain calm , cool head, self-confidence, in our army, in our Ukraine, “do not wind up ourselves, react to everything wisely, not emotionally, with your head, not with your heart, do not shout “everything is lost “but to know that everything is under control and everything is going according to plan.”

On January 26, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the United States took into account the position of Ukraine when preparing a written response from the Russian Federation to its security proposals. Washington, in a written response to Russia about “security guarantees,” confirmed that NATO’s doors to Ukraine remain open.

(C)UNIAN 2022