Hellas Journal’s questions to NATO MC Chairman, Admiral Rob Bauer, and Norway’s Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen, at the NATO MCC Press Conference, Oslo, Saturday 16.9.2023.
- Hellas Journal:
My name is Panagiotis Pavlos, from Hellas Journal in New York. And my first part of question to Admiral Bauer is the following. I mean, whether at this present Conference, in the part related to the Southeast wing of the Alliance, have you considered any provisions about promoting Greece’s role as a security hub, both with regard to the East borders, and the inlands Balkan and East European region, provisions that would in a way challenge, or affect, the balance of power between Greece and Turkey? The reason why I am asking that is that because we see that Turkey holds a very firm relation with Russia, which is the subject of the war in Ukraine, and this is indeed and oxymoron?
And the second part of the question is to general Kristoffersen, whether would you see as a contingent a war between NATO and Russia, and even a nuclear war? And that, in view of the fact that is the first time that Norway, since last year, has been sending for the first time in its history weapons abroad; this is something completely new for the Norwegian culture.
Thank you.
- Chairman of NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer:
Ehm, we didn’t talk in a specific, we didn’t talk about very specific functions of the nations in the executability discussion. Because the roles that the nations can play in the execution of the regional plans is very diverse. It ranges from the different services in the arm forces that perform a role, in different services that can be command roles even in the nations.
I know for example, that there is the NRDC Corps in Greece that can play a role in the land command structure. But we didn’t talk per nation on all the possible things that the different nations can play in the execution, so neither about Greece. In certain cases, the different nations ask, or report, the possibilities so that the Supreme Allied Commander Europe knows what the options are, and if a choice has to be made, that he is aware of the different possibilities.
With regard to your remark on Greece and Turkey, that is a bilateral discussion, that is not a NATO discussion, so I am not gonna answer on that.
- Norway’s Chief of Defence, General Kristoffersen:
So, Norway and Russia has not been to war for at least thousand years. So we are the only neighbouring country that has not been in newer history in war with Russia. And President Putin knows very well that NATO is not a threat against Russia. He says that but he knows that, that we don’t threat Russia.
Neither Norway, nor Sweden, or Finland, or Poland, we are not threatening Russia. If he believed that we are threatening Russia he couldn’t have moved all these troop to Ukraine, to fight the war there. So on our border, on the region border, there is maybe 20% or less forces left than it used to be before 24th of February 2022. So he has taken that risk because he knows that NATO is not threatening anyone. And President Putin is occupied in Ukraine, and President Putin has started this war and he can end it. He can pull out.
Norway has since 1949 been a NATO member, and NATO has kept peace for his allies, for his members ever since. So, it’s a long period of peace among NATO nations, and we have enjoyed that. And that’s also why we need to support Ukraine. Because if we allow this to happen, then we have changed, we have let Russia change some of the rules that has secured this peace since the end of WWII.
So, it was very early that Norway decided to move from non-lethal aid to antitank weapons, to artillery pieces, to air defence, it happened in a few weeks after invasion on 24th of February. And we will continue. We have made a 5-year plan approved by all parties in Parliament, which gives me the force that I need to plan to plan for both donations, training, working with industry, but also buying back, or buying new equipment to the Norwegian Army, to fill up the gaps based on what we are doing with Ukraine. So, priority one now, support Ukraine for as long as it takes.
- Admiral Bauer:
If I can build on the answer of General Kristoffersen. As he says, Russia knows NATO is not a threat. Because we are not intending to attack them. Otherwise, they would have responded completely different to the accession of Finland. And they haven’t. They talk about it, but they haven’t, in physical terms. The reason why Russia attacked, and the same applies for Ukraine; the Ukraine wasn’t a threat for Russia as well; the reason why they have attacked Ukraine were democracy, freedom, rule of law, and the fact that Ukraine more and more was wanting and willing and showing they were making their own decisions about their own future. And that was a danger, that is a danger, if that democracy settles more and more and becomes, you know, in the heart of the Ukrainian thinking, as we see, then that is a danger to the Putin regime. Because then people in Russia might start to think the same.
Watch the video with HJ Q&A at the NATO MCC 2023 Press Conference:
Source:
NATO MCC 2023 website: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_218279.htm?selectedLocale=en
Photos: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/photos_218327.htm