Norway has joined the countries that are ready to take advantage of the French “nuclear umbrella” against the backdrop of the worsening security situation in Europe and changes in US policy. This was announced by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who visited Paris on Wednesday. He signed a defence cooperation agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“We do so in view of the security policy situation in Europe, in particular Russia’s massive rearmament, including in the nuclear field, and the fact that it is waging a full-scale war against another European country,” Stere told Norwegian news agency NTB.
He added that nuclear weapons would not be deployed in Norway in peacetime.
The Scandinavian country of 5.6 million people is a member of NATO but not the European Union, and borders Russia in the Arctic. Norway has become another country to receive nuclear defence from France, after Poland and Lithuania, which also border Russia.
In March this year, France offered to extend its nuclear umbrella to willing European countries. What this actually means is that in the event of an attack on these countries, one option would be for France to use its nuclear weapons to defend them. It is now assumed that most European NATO countries are under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Belgium, Denmark and Germany, among others, have joined the French initiative. Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of placing French nuclear weapons in other countries under certain circumstances, noting that only the French president will be able to order their use.
According to official data, France now has just under 300 nuclear warheads.
Media: Norway ready to move under France’s nuclear umbrella