Russia formally withdrew from the CFE at 12 midnight Tuesday, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on its website…reports Asian Lite News
The government of Norway has decided to temporarily suspend its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in response to Russia’s withdrawal from the pact.
Oslo condemned Russia’s decision, which it said “undermined the European security architecture, which has been the cornerstone of stability in Europe since the Cold War”.
The government said on Tuesday that it will continuously assess the duration of the suspension in consultation with its allies and Nordic neighbours, Xinhua news agency reported.
Russia formally withdrew from the CFE at 12 midnight Tuesday, the country’s Foreign Ministry said on its website.
The CFE, originally signed in 1990 by the then NATO members and the then six Warsaw Treaty states, came into force in 1992.
The pact was aimed at establishing a balance between the two military alliances by setting limits on the quantities of weapons and military equipment that all parties were allowed to amass.
The funding will be used to help provide services such as health care, shelter, psychosocial support, food, water and meet other essential needs…reports Asian Lite News
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store announced Tuesday that his country will provide 350 million Norwegian kroner (32.35 million U.S. dollars) to support the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Ukraine.
To be channeled through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the funding will be used to help provide services such as health care, shelter, psychosocial support, food, water and meet other essential needs for the population in Ukraine, the prime minister said at a meeting with Director General of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society Maksym Dotsenko.
“The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is providing invaluable support to Ukraine. The Red Cross staff and volunteers are demonstrating tremendous courage in their efforts to save lives and alleviate suffering every single day,” said Store.
The United Nations estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine need relief and protection, while more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees need protection and assistance in neighboring countries.
Earlier, in August this year, Norway had decided to donate US-made F-16 combat aircraft to Ukraine. F-16s have been on Ukraine’s wish list for a long time because of their destructive power and global availability. The fighter jet is equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
“We are planning to donate Norwegian F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, and will provide further details about the donation, numbers and time frame for delivery, in due course,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere has said in a statement.
Stoere had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv and announced donations of anti-aircraft missiles and other equipment. “The donation of these F-16 jets will significantly strengthen Ukraine’s military capabilities,” Norway’s Defence Minister Bjoern Arild Gram had said in the statement.
Andrei Medvedev, fled Russia after the Russian guards opened fire on him in his account of his January flight from Russia over the country’s Arctic border with Norway…reports Asian Lite News
Former commander of the Wagner mercenary group, Andrei Medvedev, who sought asylum in Norway earlier this year, has been arrested by Norwegian police over suspicions of attempting to illegally re-enter Russia, CNN reported citing the man’s attorney on Saturday.
Andrei Medvedev, fled Russia after the Russian guards opened fire on him in his account of his January flight from Russia over the country’s Arctic border with Norway.
He has talked about his experience fighting with the Wagner organisation in Ukraine. Police stated in a statement late on Friday that a man in his 20s had been arrested for trying to enter Russia illegally, but they did not give his identity. The identity of the individual who had been arrested was withheld by a Finnmark local police officer, reported CNN.
When he first arrived in Norway, Medvedev said he was looking for refuge because he feared for his life after seeing Russian captives who had been carried to the front lines of the Ukrainian conflict killed and treated badly.
His escape in January garnered international attention as a then-rare instance of defection to a Western nation while claiming to have participated in the Ukraine War as a mercenary for Russia, according to CNN.
Although he acknowledged that doing so may endanger his life, he stated in a YouTube video that he wanted to go back to Russia and described himself as “some kind of a boy in a big game” that he no longer wanted to be a part of. (ANI)
Norway had first announced its plans to support the training of Ukrainian personnel on F-16 fighter jets in May…reports Asian Lite News
Norway has become the third European nation after Denmark and the Netherlands to pledge to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
“We are planning to donate Norwegian F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, and will provide further details about the donation, numbers and time frame for delivery in due course,” CNN quoted Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store as saying on Thursday.
Norway had first announced its plans to support the training of Ukrainian personnel on F-16 fighter jets in May.
“Norway is supporting Ukraine in its efforts to build a modern air defense system. This is both important and necessary,” the Prime Minister added.
Also on Thursday, Norway said that it will be donating anti-aircraft missiles and de-mining sets to Ukraine, as well as 1.5 billion NOK ($140.5 million) to secure gas and electricity supply in the country.
This brings the total value of Norway’s support over five years to 75 billion NOK, a statement on the government website said.
Last week, a US State Department spokesman had announced that Washington approved the transfer of American-made F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands to Kiev as soon as Ukrainian pilots are fully trained to operate them.
Denmark and the Netherlands have taken the lead in preparing a program to train Ukrainian pilots on the American jet, but the US is still working with other countries to see who may provide F-16s to the Ukrainian Air Force.
While the Dutch are thought to have about 24 operational F-16s which are scheduled to be taken out of service and replaced by more advanced war planes, Denmark is also planning an upgrade of its fleet of some 30 F-16s.
An 11-member coalition of Ukraine’s allies in the West is due to start training Ukrainian pilots later this month and they are expected to be ready next year.
Ukraine is believed to have dozens of combat aircraft — mostly MiGs — all dating from the Soviet era.
Norway and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations in 1952 and the embassy in Colombo was opened in 1996…reports Asian Lite News
Norwegian government has announced that it will shut down its embassy in Sri Lanka on July 31, and from August 1, its New Delhi-based diplomatic mission would be responsible for the country’s bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
“This Facebook page will be closed. We invite you to follow the page of the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi for more updates on our ongoing cooperation with India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives!,” the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo said in a Facebook post.
“Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi will now be the mission responsible for Norway in India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives headed by the Norwegian Ambassador to India,” it added.
The decision came months after the announcement by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that five of its overseas missions would be closed down, including the Embassy of Norway in Colombo.
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt, in September 2022, announced that the country would make several changes to its missions abroad. Accordingly, Embassies in Bratislava (Slovakia), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Pristina (Kosovo), the embassy office in Antananarivo (Madagascar) and the Consulate General in Houston (USA) would be closed down.
Norway and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations in 1952 and the embassy in Colombo was opened in 1996.
Norway will also increase its funding for nuclear safety and security cooperation with Ukraine by 150 million kroner…reports Asian Lite News
Norway has announced to provide 250 million Norwegian kroner ($23 million) this year to support nuclear safety and security efforts in Ukraine, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Anniken Huitfeldt.
“A nuclear accident in Ukraine would have consequences not only for Ukraine itself, but also beyond the country’s borders,” she said in a press statement on Monday.
Of the allocated funds, 100 million kroner will be used in support to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This financial assistance will help ensure the continued presence of IAEA experts in Ukraine, said the statement.
IAEA experts are present at the Chernobyl site, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and Ukraine’s three other operational nuclear power plants, Xinhua news agency reported.
Norway will also increase its funding for nuclear safety and security cooperation with Ukraine by 150 million kroner, the statement added.
An aerial image taken on June 4, 2023 shows the magnitude of wildfires in Chapel Creek, British Columbia, Canada. (BC Wildfire Service/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)
Over the last few days, plumes of smoke have stretched from Canada across Greenland, Iceland and made their way to Norway…reports Asian Lite News
Smoke from the raging wildfires in Canada, which has already blanketed parts of the US and placed around 75 million people under alerts due to hazardous air, has reached as far as Norway, according to scientists.
Over the last few days, plumes of smoke have stretched from Canada across Greenland, Iceland and made their way to Norway, CNN quoted the scientists at the Climate and Environmental Research Institute in Norway (NILU) as saying on Friday.
They have been able to detect the increase in smoke using very sensitive instruments and then confirm its origin using forecast modeling.
People in Norway may be able to smell and even notice the smoke as a light haze but, unlike parts of the US that have seen hazardous pollution, they should experience no health impacts, Nikolaos Evangeliou, a senior scientist at NILU, told CNN.
“The fires traveling from such long distances arrive very diluted,” he added.
Over the coming days, the plume is expected to spread across swaths of Europe but it’s unlikely people will be able to smell or notice the smoke, Evangeliou noted.
It is however, not unusual for wildfire smoke to travel long distances, the scientist told CNN, adding that “smoke from wildfires such as those in Canada is injected at high altitudes thus staying in the atmosphere longer and able to travel over far distances”.
In 2020, smoke from California’s record-breaking wildfires was detected in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago located deep inside the Arctic Circle.
Meanwhile, Canadian authorities on Friday reported 10 new wildfires, which brought the total number to 2,405.
In its latest update, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said there were 422 active wildfires on Friday, down from 431 on Thursday.
The number of out-of-control wildfires fell to 219 on Friday from Thursday’s 234, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the update. On Friday, there were 89 wildfires being held and 114 under control.
Wildfires have so far devoured about 45,000 square km of land in Canada, making 2023 one of the worst years for wildfires on record, according to the centre. In Alberta, unsettled weather brought new starts.
Hot and dry windy weather was across the north, and extreme fire weather is expected. In Ontario, two larger fires in the far north were receiving some limited suppression action and ignition. More lightning fires from existing and new lightning are expected, the centre said.
Will Norway host Taliban for talks as West looks to re-engage with Afghanistan?.(photo:IN)
Norway has been at the forefront of holding discussions concerning the developments in Afghanistan…writes Rahul Kumar
Western nations and Afghan stakeholders will meet in Norway in mid-June to discuss Afghanistan’s current situation and the Taliban’s governance issues – which will complete two years in power this August.
To be held in Norwegian capital Oslo, the meeting will also discuss the promises the Taliban made to the international community since it took over the reins of power in the aftermath of the US and NATO withdrawal post the US-Taliban peace accord in Doha, Qatar, in February 2020.
With the meeting, the Western nations want to keep the doors of dialogue open with the Taliban in a bid to persuade it to join the mainstream of global governance. Currently, the Taliban has not been given recognition by the world over keeping minorities out of governance and disallowing girls and women from education and work.
Norway has been at the forefront of holding discussions concerning the developments in Afghanistan.
The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Jan Egeland recently travelled to Kandahar in Afghanistan to speak with Taliban leaders about allowing women to work. The Taliban administration had prohibited women from working in international aid and UN organisations in compliance with Islamic laws.
In January 2022, Norway had invited a 15-member Taliban delegation for talks with Western diplomats, inviting questions whether it was providing legitimacy to the ostracised group. Norwegian diplomats, however, defended the closed-door talks as icebreaking, saying these would pave the way for an improvement in the human rights situation in the country, which faces one of its worst humanitarian conditions due to natural disasters, reduced aid and a boycott of the Taliban regime.
More recently, leaders of the European Union (EU) and Central Asian Region (CAR) met in Kyrgyzstan to discuss, among other things, how to stabilise the situation in the landlocked nation. They shared their worries over the export of terrorism from Afghanistan even as they stressed on the need for more humanitarian aid for the Afghan people.
Barely a month back, India had joined a two-day closed-door conference on Afghanistan with 20 other countries led by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss the Afghan crisis. Worried over the deteriorating situation in the South Asian nation, the UN organised the meeting in Doha, Qatar, along with the US, Russia, China and other nations.
With the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, nations have voiced apprehensions over international peace and security, including the illicit drug trade and the proliferation of terrorism. Afghanistan’s close relations have eroded considerably with regular border clashes with eastern neighbour Pakistan.
Along with security, countries have been voicing their fears over the deteriorating conditions for the people due to conflict, droughts and an unstable economy. Thousands of Afghans have been leaving the country in a desperate bid to head to Europe and as far as the US.
The $7 billion of modern weapon systems left behind by the US during its hasty withdrawal too has spread unease among its neighbours.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
In Norway, Pakistan is under the scanner on suspicions of siphoning WMD technology
Besides highlighting Pakistan as a future threat, Norway has identified Islamist extremist violence as a mounting threat….reports Rahul Kumar
The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has listed Pakistan as one of the countries that pose a significant threat to Norway.
Greek website Directus says that the threat assessment report 2023 prepared by the PST – Norway’s domestic security service, points to several threats to Norway’s security, both domestically and internationally. The department identifies and assesses threats related to intelligence, sabotage, spread of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and extremism.
The website says: “Islamabad has the dubious distinction of appearing in the list for the last few years. It is perceived to be posing a threat to Norway in terms of proliferation of sensitive technology. Norwegian businesses, researchers and research institutes possess knowledge and technology that are sought after for the development of advanced weapons systems and weapons of mass destruction”.
Analysts say Norwegian suspicions may been raised because of Islamabad’s dubious track record on nuclear proliferation marshalled by none other than the rogue Pakistani atomic scientist AQ Khan, who had stolen the blueprints for nuclear technology from Norway’s southern neighbour – the Netherlands.
While working at the Physical Dynamic Research Laboratory (FDO) in the Netherlands in the seventies, Khan copied blueprints for centrifuges and other components and quietly slipped back to Pakistan. Both American and Dutch intelligence agencies got wind of Khan’s intentions. Eventually, a Dutch court even convicted Khan to four years in prison in absentia for nuclear espionage.
After getting Islamabad and the Pakistani military the nuclear devices, Khan is believed to have proliferated nuclear documents to Iran, Libya and North Korea at an individual level.
The crisis-ridden Pakistan is increasingly being looked at suspiciously by global powers due to rising violence, political immaturity of its leaders, strong separatist movements and the tattered state of its economy.
In April this year, Norway’s neighbour Sweden had closed its Islamabad embassy indefinitely due to security concerns. A statement on the embassy website simply said: “Due to the current security situation in Islamabad, the Embassy of Sweden is closed for visitors”.
In February this year, China also shut down the consular section of its Islamabad embassy due to poor security. Simultaneously, Beijing advised its nationals to enhance personal safety measures as violence mounted across the country by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) in the north-west and the Baloch insurgents in the south-west provinces.
Pakistan’s reputation as a global threat is now at its peak. In October 2022, US President Joe Biden had said that the country is one of the most dangerous nations. Speaking with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Biden had said: “What I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world, Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion”.
The sentiments about Pakistan being a threat are now being echoed openly across the world.
The Directus website says that Pakistan can harm Norway in two ways – install its researchers in academic and research institutions in Norway to obtain sensitive technology and transfer it to Pakistan for the development of weapons systems.
The other route Pakistan is likely to take is to circumvent Norwegian export control regulations in a bid to obtain banned Norwegian technology. For this, the website says: “The modus operandi is to create as much uncertainty as possible around the actual end user of the good. One method is to establish a highly complex corporate structure, with nominee and front companies and complicated supply chains. Another is to use an unusual freight route to transport the product to its final destination that makes it very difficult to detect breaches of the export control regulations”.
AQ Khan
Besides highlighting Pakistan as a future threat, Norway has identified Islamist extremist violence as a mounting threat. Another Norwegian website, The Local says: “China, Iran, Pakistan, and several other states conduct active intelligence efforts in Norway”.
Among the threats arising from various countries, It has also mentioned likely terrorist plots being carried out by “extreme Islamists” who feel offended at the Quran burning incidents. The Norwegian police says: “However, the most relevant targets for extreme Islamist terror will still be civilian crowds, institutions, or people who are perceived to insult the religion of Islam, as well as uniformed police and defence personnel in public spaces”.
Regarding Islamist violence, the PST report says: “In Norway, we expect such events to occur in 2023. Debates and events in Norway that are perceived to inhibit religious practice will also reinforce the perception that the West is at war with Islam. When such events occur in Norway, the likelihood of radicalisation and ultimately terrorist plots against Norway increases”.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
The move is part of the US administration’s efforts to strengthen its presence in the Nordics and the Arctic Area….reports Asian Lite News
The US will open its first diplomatic post in Tromso, a northern city of Norway, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“To deepen our own engagement in the high North, I am announcing today the US will be opening an American presence post in Tromso,” Blinken told reporters on Thursday during a press conference held after a two-day informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, capital of Norway.
With a population of more than 77,000, Tromso is the largest urban area in Northern Norway and the third most populous city in the Arctic Circle.
The move is part of the US administration’s efforts to strengthen its presence in the Nordics and the Arctic Area.
The American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered super carrier just finished a seven-day visit to Oslo this week.
.@SecBlinken announced today that the United States intends to open a U.S. presence post in Tromsø. This post represents a commitment to deepening our engagement with Norway and to underscore the significance we place on the Arctic region as a whole. pic.twitter.com/eua5VTm7pf
Norwegian media reported that the aircraft carrier is heading North along the nation’s coast and taking part in the Arctic Challenge Exercise (ACE) 2023, which will involve nearly 2,700 personnel and more than 150 aircraft.
The US maintains an embassy in Oslo. Norway maintains an embassy in Washington D.C., along with consulates in New York, Houston and San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said that Sweden should become a full member of the NATO military alliance as soon as possible.
“There is absolutely no reason for holding Sweden back,” she said on the eve of a two-day NATO meeting of foreign ministers in Oslo. “Sweden fulfils all the criteria.”
Sweden applied to join the alliance in May 2022, alongside its traditionally neutral neighbor Finland. While Helsinki’s bid was ratified in April 2023, Stockholm’s has been held up by Hungary and Türkiye, as all NATO member countries have a veto on any new accession.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom is hoping new anti-terrorism legislation which comes into force this week should help Sweden overcome the Turkish veto.
“This new legislation will close a loophole in our already existing anti-terrorist legislation,” Billstrom told reporters in Lulea, northern Sweden. “Sweden has not previously prohibited participation in a terrorist organization. We will do this now.”
Türkiye says Sweden harbors members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists. The new legislation will make it illegal to arrange meetings or provide logistical or financial help or even food to outlawed groups.
The wide scope of the law has sparked concerns in Sweden about whether it could infringe freedom of speech and other fundamental rights, but the government hopes it will convince newly re-elected Turkish President Rcep Tayyip Erdogan to green-light its NATO membership before July’s Vilnius summit.
