On Politisk kvarter on NRK on Tuesday morning, international law expert Cecilie Hellestveit says that Norway’s arms delivery to Ukraine means that we must ask ourselves questions about who Russia can in theory now attack.
– The criteria for not being considered a co-fighter is that you do not contribute militarily to one of the parties. If you deliver weapons of an offensive quality, as Norway does now, it means that we become co-warriors. This means that Russia, under certain conditions, can attack targets in Norway, says Hellestveit.
– This means that the usual protection we have for Norwegian sovereignty in Norway, that threshold is now much, much lower, she continues.
On Monday, however, Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl denied that the security situation in Norway is threatened as a result of the situation in Ukraine.
Norway sends weapons
Two questions
The international law expert believes that it is not unlikely that an attack on Norway can take place, despite the fact that Norway is a member of NATO.
– It will not be unjustified by Russia to attack a target linked to the delivery of military capabilities to Ukraine. This is not a violation of the UN Charter.
Hellestveit points out that when Norway chooses to become a co-warrior, we must take a stand on the following questions:
– Does Norway have enough military capacity to protect us from such an attack? And are there any political reasons why Russia will fail to do so, if they have the opportunity?
