Chairpersons,
Colleagues,
Norway has aligned itself to the statement held by the EU and fully subscribe to its content and recommendations. In my national capacity I would like to underline the following:
The Vienna Document is OSCEs key document for confidence and security building measures, among these: risk reduction, openness and transparency. Norway joins the Baltic states in the legitimate security concern on the unusual, and unscheduled military activity, Exercise Union Resolve 2022.
Although we know that Norwegian exercises constitute no threat to our Neighbors, Norway will continue to deliver notifications, statements, and briefs – including numbers, weapon systems and timelines. This also apply to the upcoming exercise Cold Response 2022, which is of a magnitude which we understand can lead to concerns in our neighborhood. We urge Belarus and Russia to do likewise. Norway has opened up for verification after the pandemic and have invited all OSCE participating states to observe the Cold Response exercise next month.
We have taken note that Belarus conducts big exercises with foreign forces and bilateral verification activity. It is our recommendation that Belarus open up for regular armscontrol verification as soon as possible. We urge Belarus to show their true commitment to the document and thoroughly answer the legitimate questions asked by the Baltic states in their notifications, the meeting this last Monday and repeated in several statements at today’s meeting.
And we also call on the Russian Federation to come to the diplomatic table and take part in the implementation of the Vienna Document by following its letter and spirit.
Let us continue to work to uphold the stability and security in Europe and the entire OSCE region.
Thank you