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– Norway is working to reduce, not increase, the number of nuclear weapons globally, wrote Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.

In late March, parliamentary representative Audun Lysebakken (SV) asked whether the government would condemn Britain’s rearmament in violation of its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

– Britain announced on March 16 that it was increasing the limit on the number of nuclear weapons it could possess. The UK currently has 215 nuclear weapons. The goal of reducing to a maximum of 180 nuclear weapons has now been rejected, and the UK has increased the limit on the number of nuclear weapons by more than 40 percent to 260 nuclear weapons, said in the question from Lysebakken.

“The fact that the UK is increasing the number of nuclear weapons it can possess runs counter to its obligations under Article 6 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty to seek disarmament.”

Armor pressure increase

On April 8, the answer came from Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide. There he indicated that this was not a desirable development and expressed concern about the decision.

– Norway is working to reduce, not increase, the number of nuclear weapons globally. We are concerned about the UK’s decision to increase the limit on the number of nuclear warheads. We have clearly communicated this to the UK, Søreide wrote in his reply.

Nonetheless, the UK still states that it will continue to work actively for nuclear disarmament and a world without nuclear weapons, and for the full implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to Eriksen Søreide.

– In conversation, English only highlights this. They had also determined that it was an upper limit to the number of warheads raised, and this did not mean that one would increase the number to this level.

He also pointed out that Britain’s decision to increase the nuclear arms ceiling should be seen in light of the fact that countries such as Russia and China have contributed to increasing arms pressure.

New treaty will limit strategic nuclear weapons

Earlier this year, the United States and Russia agreed to a five-year extension of the START treaty. This would limit strategic nuclear weapons.

– It is important to emphasize that over the years Norway has worked to ensure that arms control is central to NATO’s adaptation to changing security situations.

Therefore, he believes that the extension of the Start agreement between the US and Russia is very important to implement.

– This is a good starting point for further work with disarmament and arms control, wrote the Foreign Minister.