NATO has 2-3 years to prepare for war with Russia - Norway's military chief

Illustrative photo (photo: Getty Images)

Norway Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen believes that NATO has two to three years to prepare for the moment when Russia restores its capability for conventional warfare, according to Bloomberg.

The agency notes that this is a shorter timeframe than some Western officials estimated during discussions at NATO on Russia's military buildup and its ability to regenerate forces.

"At one point someone said it’ll take 10 years but I think we’re back to less than 10 years because of the industrial base that is now running in Russia," Kristoffersen said.

"It will take some time, which gives us a window now for the next two to three years to rebuild our forces, to rebuild our stocks at the same times as we are supporting Ukraine," the general said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's public stance that he is not interested in war with NATO.

The Norwegian parliament is set to approve a plan to nearly double defense spending over the next 12 years to adapt to threats from Russia. The focus will be on the capabilities of the military-naval forces and air defense.

Norway aims to achieve its NATO spending target of 2% of gross domestic product by 2024, with the level expected to reach 2.7% of GDP by 2030.

"I see a window now where we can meet the requirements that NATO has agreed on, new command structure, new force structures, the new regional plans. So we can fulfill those plans and those decisions with content in the next years but we need to speed up. We need to do it in two to three years to make sure that we are ready for whatever might happen," said the commander of the Norwegian army.

In March, NATO Military Committee Chair Rob Bauer said that NATO countries are prepared for a potential military conflict with Russia.

Read also the article on this topic by RBC-Ukraine.