First published: 11 Oct 2007, 11:29

This Russian Tupolev was clearly carrying a cruise missile when it flew off Norway's northern coast on August 28.

PHOTO: FORSVARET

Cold War shivers re-emerge
Norway's military has felt it necessary to dispatch fighter jets 29 times so far this year, to monitor Russian military flights offshore. Now it's emerged that at least one of the Russian aircraft was equipped with a cruise missile.

Newspaper Aftenposten carried a photo of the Russian Tupolev 22 bomber on its front page on Thursday. The photo was taken by a Norwegian fighter jet crew sent out to monitor the flights of two such aircraft about seven weeks ago.

Military officials say the two Russian flights were in "classic position" to fire cruise missiles off Bodø, but both turned away before reaching Norwegian territory, 12 nautical miles from land.

The maneuvers were said to be "unusual," and part of a series of Russian flights in recent months that many are beginning to view as "sabre-rattling" on the part of Russian officials keen to assert their authority in the area.

Norwegian military officials are quick to note that the missile incident wasn't considered a direct provocation. Tor Sandlie, chief of NATO's air operations in northern Norway, told Aftenposten that "we look at this as normal training activity."

On the agenda
The heightened Russian activity is being closely watched, however, and was a topic of talks this week among the foreign ministers of Norway, Sweden and Finland in the northern city of Bodø. There, they received a briefing from military brass inside a NATO facility.

While 29 Russian military flights have been photographed, an equal number haven't been. The Russian activity over the Barents, Norwegian and North Seas has extended as far south as Great Britain, and it's increasing, but remains nowhere near the scale of activity during the Cold War.

Foreign Ministers Ilkka Kanerva of Finland, Carl Bildt of Sweden and Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway agreed that the activity doesn't appear aimed at the Nordic countries and that it can be considered part of legitimate training operations. Local politicians hope residents of northern Norway won't be frightened by the flights, and instead view them merely as Russian officials' desire to demonstrate that they once again have military muscle.

The ministers, meanwhile, expressed solidarity and cooperation on security issues in the north, with Kanerva of Finland noting that among the three countries, "there aren't any foreign or security policy questions that can't be discussed."

Aftenposten English Web Desk
Nina Berglund
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2042413.ece