Launch situation: Norway plans military talks with Russia
Norway plans to discuss maritime security issues with Russia and hold meetings between the military and border guards of the two countries. This was reported to Izvestia by the headquarters of the kingdom's armed forces. The Russian Embassy confirmed that working communication channels remain in place between the parties. However, due to Oslo's policy of confrontation with Moscow, there is no need to talk about serious cooperation on security and stability in the Arctic. Experts also believe that current contacts are needed primarily to resolve technical issues.
Dialogue between Moscow and Oslo
Norway intends to hold consultations with Russia by the end of the year on preventing incidents on the high seas, Rune Haarstad, a spokesman for the joint staff of the kingdom's Armed Forces, told Izvestia.
— In November or December, we plan to hold talks with the Russian side within the framework of the INCSEA protocol (Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents at Sea. — Ed.). The responsibility for organizing and holding the meeting is assigned to the headquarters of the Norwegian Armed Forces, and it will be headed by the deputy head of the operational Command of the Norwegian Armed Forces," Haarstad said.
According to him, discussions with the Russian border guard service and the coast Guard are planned in the fall, as well as weekly negotiations with the Northern Fleet as usual, as an important channel for ensuring security in the Arctic region.
The Russian Embassy in Oslo confirmed to Izvestia that the border services of the two countries hold annual working meetings. In addition, a communication channel remains in place between the operational services of the Northern Fleet and the Norwegian Armed Forces to exchange information on emergency situations. The diplomatic mission also reported that in December 2025 in Moscow, military experts from the two countries discussed the implementation of the 1990 agreement on maritime security outside territorial waters.
"However, these mechanisms are not working in full force, as the Norwegian side and its NATO allies are following the path of escalation in the Arctic, increasing risks and conflict potential," the Russian diplomats noted.
The Russian Embassy in Oslo stressed that there is no need to talk about a serious and substantive dialogue between the military on stability and security in the Arctic. According to diplomats, this is due to the fact that Oslo continues to adhere to the West's confrontational course aimed at inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia and increasing NATO's military presence in the northern latitudes.
Nikita Belukhin, a junior researcher at the Department of European Political Studies at the IMEMO RAS, explained to Izvestia that relative stability and trust in the Russian-Norwegian border area are preserved thanks to the agreement on the border regime and the procedure for resolving conflicts and incidents, signed back in 1949. According to him, Norway is interested in maintaining these agreements, despite the tension in relations with Russia and minimal contacts between the countries.
Embassy of the Russian Federation in Norway
Such communication channels are effective only for limited purposes, but they are not sufficient to prevent the escalation of major conflicts. The reason is that these are practical security tools, and the contacts are not political in nature, Vadim Koroshchupov, a military expert and researcher at the IMEMO of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
Militarization of Norway
The country is actively deploying NATO military infrastructure on its territory. Earlier, a number of media outlets reported that the United States deployed the Mk 70 launcher in Norway for exercises with the participation of the United Kingdom. The Mk 70 is designed to launch universal missiles, including Typhon and Tomahawk, to hit targets on land or at sea. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted that the locations of American missile systems in Norway will be the subject of special attention of the strategic deterrence forces of the Russian Federation. Russia takes into account the ability of these complexes to "cover" an impressive sector of the European part of the country, including Moscow.
Oslo is also developing its own missile ambitions. Izvestia previously wrote about the formation of an artillery battalion near the border with Russia, as well as Norway's plans to receive 16 launchers of the South Korean K239 CHUNMOO MLRS and missiles with a range of up to 500 km by 2030. Russia perceives Norway's military construction on the border as a security threat, which is a reason for Moscow's retaliatory measures, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In addition to the military program, Oslo is also developing civilian space exploration. On September 5, the Spectrum launch vehicle, created by a German private company, launched several spacecraft into orbit from the Norwegian Andeya cosmodrome. According to Nikita Belukhin, satellites launched from Norway can also be used for exploration and surveillance of the Arctic regions of Russia. He believes that confidence-building measures and existing communication channels can be extended to the missile field in order to reduce the risk of dangerous situations.
At the same time, resources for such interaction are limited: regional formats are actually frozen. The Arctic Council used to host meetings of the chiefs of General staff, but the Russian side last participated in them in 2013. Since March 2022, the council's work has largely been suspended due to the position of the Western Arctic countries. There are still no opportunities to restore political dialogue: the Nordic countries are actively supplying weapons to Ukraine and are not seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict.
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