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Norway stays committed to its policy towards NATO, says Russian top diplomat

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

KIRKENES /Norway/, October 25. /TASS/. Norway continues to be committed to its policy towards NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday after talks with his Norwegian counterpart, Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide.

"We asked a number of questions about NATO’s activities on Norway’s territory. We are worried over it bearing in mind that it is our neighbor and because it creates risks of militarization of the Arctic, and all the Arctic Council members have always been against it," Lavrov said. "As I have already said, Mrs. Minister provided her argument in response, namely commitments within the North Atlantic Alliance, but confirmed, as I have already noted, that the basic policy stays in place."

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NATO’s military buildup poses threat to Arctic security, says Lavrov

"We hope it will continue that way," he added.

When asked by journalists whether Norway’s arguments concerning its military activities near the Russian border were enough, Lavrov said in his manner, "When we discuss such matter we never seek to get satisfaction."

"We know that utter satisfaction is unachievable in human lifetime," he added.

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Sergey Lavrov NATO Norway

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