Erna Solberg speaks at the Conservative Party’s national meeting – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
“Perhaps we should have understood where it would end already when Putin left Grozny in ruins,” Solberg said in the speech.
She was referring to the Russian campaign in Chechnya in the early 2000s, in which the bombing of the capital Grozny was described as extremely brutal.
– Or when he bombed Georgian cities. We should have seen what would happen when Putin killed his opponents at home. And then he also started killing people who had fled abroad. When he broke disarmament agreements.
– We should at least have understood that when he invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula. And when he invaded Luhansk and Donetsk. Or when he leveled Aleppo, she said.
Takes self-criticism for dealing with Putin
Many of the events Solberg referred to, such as the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, took place while she was prime minister (2013 to 2021). When she talked about how “we” have handled Putin’s regime, one could sense a degree of self-examination in the former head of government.
– When we look back, we have been too preoccupied with what we like to “move on”. Again and again, she told the National Assembly
– We all hoped that there would be a more positive development. But that hope has now been shattered once and for all, she added.
She warned against believing that Russia in the north is anything other than Putin’s Russia, and that one can achieve something more alone than with allies.
– All contact with Russia now must be based on the fact that it is Putin’s Russia we are talking to
And it is a Russia you can not trust, according to Solberg.
War crimes
– Russia has broken so many international agreements. They have obviously committed war crimes on several occasions, most recently in Ukraine, she told NRK after the speech.
– This means that we can not trust the promises made by Putin.
– How vulnerable are we?
– We are not so militarily or security-wise vulnerable at the moment, the Conservative leader answers.
– There are no threats against us, as the situation looks. But, in the long run, we must remember our coast and our sea areas are Russia’s access to the Atlantic Ocean.
That is why Norway’s defense capability for the coast is particularly important, she believes.
Defended NATO’s nuclear weapons
Solberg claimed in the speech that Norway’s NATO membership is the difference that means that Norway has been treated far better than several other of Russia’s neighboring countries.
– Not our ability to talk to Putin, she added.
She believes Norway’s security rests on NATO’s agreement to view an attack on one as an attack on all.
– That is why the Conservatives in government never went against our NATO partners on the issue of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Solberg said.
Several Norwegian parties have argued that Norway should join the UN ban on nuclear weapons from 2017. Critics believe that as long as potential enemies have nuclear weapons, NATO must also have it as a deterrent.
Solberg is among those who believe it has little intention for Norway to join the ban.
– The treaty is not an effective tool for nuclear disarmament either, Solberg said.