Norway on Friday said that it has signed a revised agreement with the United States on how to regulate US military activity on its soil.
According to the agreement the US can build facilities at three Norwegian airfields and one naval base, but will not amount to separate US bases, the government said. “The agreement regulates and facilitates US presence, training, and exercises in Norway, thus facilitating rapid US reinforcement of Norway in the event of crisis or war,” the government said.
Norway shares a short border with Russia and relations between Norway and Russia gradually improved in the post-Cold war era before suffering a setback when Moscow captured Crimea in 2014.
Since joining NATO as a founding member in 1949, Norway has said that it would not allow foreign bases to be established in peacetime or the stockpiling of nuclear arms, although Western troops are welcome to exercise on its soil.
“Our cooperation with our allies is under continuous development. The agreement reaffirms Norway’s close relationship with the US and confirms Norway’s key position on the northern flank of NATO,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide said.
