Anniken Huitfeldt – Don’t Let Us Scare You

NEW YORK (Dagbladet): This week, Heitfeldt returned to United Nations Headquarters in New York – just two weeks after the UN summit. Although the autumn sun shone brightly over the city, there were some very dark clouds over the world organization. Once again, Russia and the attack on Ukraine is the main topic.

Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons, and US President Joe Biden warned this week of the danger of “nuclear war” if Russia takes the threat seriously.

This became a major topic when this week Heitfeldt also moderated a meeting with Biden’s national security adviser at the White House, Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

using fear

We discussed how fear is used as a tool now, and we should not be afraid. We defend Ukraine. It is also in our own interest. If we allow such measures to gain traction, such that one can attack their neighboring country and use military means to change the map, it will have disastrous consequences for other parts of the world as well, Huitfeldt tells Dagbladet.

She says Blinken was concerned about the energy situation in Europe and that defense and vigilance was being intensified around areas near Norway and oil and gas facilities.

It causes headaches: – Very important

Are we seeing pressure on Putin now?

– Yes, Putin is trapped in the corner. We have to see these threats and this discourse from this perspective. There are major setbacks for Russia on the ground. Ukrainians are regaining more and more territory, so rhetoric from Putin is growing in parallel, and there are no indications that it is getting stronger. exactly the contrary.

Are there indications that he is weakening internally in Russia?

– There are different assessments of it, but it’s hard for me to guess now.

– ready for anything

– Biden recently spoke about the fear of “nuclear Armageddon.” How big is the danger of nuclear war?

– We must be prepared for everything. But we don’t see any concrete steps now that Russia has started preparing its own nuclear weapons. The Secretary of State says, we have to deal with reality.

On Wednesday came the news that the Svalbard Tourism Board had expelled Russia’s state-owned Trust Arktikugol. The Russians, for their part, announced that they would prosecute the Tourist Board. However, Hoytfeldt rejects that we now see that the level of conflict with Russia is also increasing in Svalbard.

– No, it is the Norwegian laws and regulations that apply to that group of islands, and there are daily good contacts between the governor and the Russian representatives in Barentsburg, says the foreign minister.

This week, the United Nations General Assembly voted on a resolution condemning Russia’s attempt to annex four regions of Ukraine. The result is expected to be announced on Thursday evening.

Norway provides 210 million worth of ammunition

a little support

The same proposal was presented to the Security Council last week. There, Russia has a veto and used this to block the resolution. The question now is how many countries will actually vote with Russia on this issue.

In March, 141 of the 193 member states of the United Nations voted to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. 35 countries abstained, while four countries along with Russia voted against the resolution. The four are Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea.

Russia has not gained any friends in the world since they started this brutal war. But they play a role in some of the conflicts with telling their stories. So there is a greater understanding in some parts of the world. But remember that the last time the United Nations voted, they had support from only four countries. Huitfeldt says it’s exceptionally small.

Resolutions in the UN General Assembly are not binding, but the vote is seen as a global test of the international community’s position on the war in Ukraine.