Military cooperation better than ever

Norwegian and Russian military cooperate more closely than ever, with several meetings every year between the military leaders. This week Trond Grytting, head of the regional command in northern Norway, met with head of FSB in Murmansk Oblast, Vjatsjeslav Birjukov, in the border town of Kirkenes.

Cooperation between NATO and Russia has suffered hard times over the last year, but the Norwegian – Russian military cooperation in the north has remained unaffected by the discussions.

This week Rear Admiral Trond Grytting, head of the regional command in northern Norway (LDKN), met with his colleague General Vjatsjeslav Birjukov of the FSB Murmansk Oblast. They both emphasised the close military cooperation between Norway and Russia in the north.

− There are now secrets when we meet and we have an open and trustful dialogue. Earlier I had to write a letter every time I wanted to meet with my Norwegian colleague. Today, if there is anything I would like to discuss, I can just call Rear Admiral Grytting without further notice, says General Birjukov.

During their meeting in the border town of Kirkenes this week, the main topics on the agenda were managing the resources of the Barents Sea, the cooperation over the Norwegian-Russian border and planned joint exercises with Norwegian and Russian forces.

Already this month the Norwegian and Russian Border Patrols will carry through a joint exercise on the border. Later this year the annual Barents Rescue exercise will be carried through, with Russia as host nation for the operations.

One thing which will be developed over the next period is increased exchange of personnel and equipment between Norway and Russia. Both leaders believe that increased knowledge about each other’s work is important for better cooperation.

Source: Barents Observer