Norway Contributes To NATO Drills On Its Territory - Foreign Minister

Norway does not allow the permanent deployment of foreign troops on its territory but contributes to NATO exercises and training, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said Friday at a meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov

KIRKENES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2019) Norway does not allow the permanent deployment of foreign troops on its territory but contributes to NATO exercises and training, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said Friday at a meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

"Norway has been a member of the NATO alliance since 1949 ... We do not permit the permanent stationing of foreign troops on our land, but we still facilitate the conduct of exercises and training on our land. We also very much appreciate the work that was carried out for the discussions, interference with GPS signals ... Such consultations are and will be held," Eriksen Soreide said.

Between late October and early November last year, NATO's Trident Juncture military drills, held in several northern European countries, including Norway and Finland, were overshadowed by several incidents in which pilots reported losing GPS signals.

Later, the Norwegian Defense Ministry issued a statement blaming Russia for the disruption of GPS navigation signals. Finland also alleged that Russia could be responsible for jamming the signal. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has noted the existing trend of accusing Russia of "various deadly sins," saying that such accusations were, as a rule, unfounded.